


Strange and Untrue (But I Still Want You)

by rhyaenv



Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: Age Difference, Alpha Jensen, Alpha Jensen Ackles, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Bottom Jared Padalecki, Claiming, First Time, Fluff, Knotting, M/M, Mating, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Not Beta Read, Omega Jared, Omega Jared Padalecki, Original Character(s), Smut, Top Jensen Ackles, True Mates, mentions of mpreg
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-29
Updated: 2017-10-13
Packaged: 2018-05-23 10:15:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 30,778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6113344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rhyaenv/pseuds/rhyaenv
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When he was fourteen years old, Jared Padalecki happened to meet a strange man, an alpha, on Christmas Eve, and two days after, he presented as an omega. Six years later, when Jared’s working part-time at a luxurious hotel in LA, he happens to meet the same man yet again, and to Jared’s surprise, he comes to realize that the alpha is actually his one true mate.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A fic for [v3rd3luz](http://v3rd3luz.tumblr.com/) for being the first winner of [my omega!Jared/Sam sideblog's](http://omegajaredsam.tumblr.com/) [fanfic giveaway](http://omegajaredsam.tumblr.com/post/138746476802/hi-everyone-admin-victoria-here-this-blog-has)!

Jared will always remember the winter break during his freshman year in high school.

Despite being only fourteen years old at the time, Jared had been ecstatic to have his older brother back home for the holidays. Jeff was five years older than him and had moved out over a year ago to go study at UT Austin, so Jared only ever really got to see Jeff during his few breaks from school and during the summer.

Even Megan, their little sister who was only eight years old then, was noticeably excited to have Jeff back in the house. Jared thought their parents would be just as happy to have their oldest son back home, and they were for the first few days, but then things between them started to grow strained.

Megan seemed oblivious to the changes going on, but Jared could see how their both Mom and Dad would sometimes frown while looking at Jeff, looking disappointed and something else Jared couldn’t really pin down. How his brother would, at times, address their parents in a stiff, curt manner. How, when all three of them were in a room together, a tense atmosphere would engulf the area and make Jared feel like something terrible might happen at any given moment.

So while Jared had no idea what exactly might’ve happened to cause these changes, he could only hope that things between Jeff and their parents would soon be resolved so that everything would be as it should be before Christmas arrived.

Suffice to say, Jared was absolutely disheartened when things only got worse between them until everything eventually came to a head on _Christmas Eve_ —of all days—during dinner.

 

It’d been quiet around the dinner table as his family was eating, but then his father brought something up about Jeff’s studies in college, and before Jared knew it, his older brother was arguing with their Mom and Dad across the table.

It didn’t take long for them to start yelling at each other. And as soon as they did, Jared’s eyes flew to Megan, who was looking back and forth between their parents and Jeff with wide, frightened eyes, looking like she was on the verge of crying.

So Jared immediately got up and went to her side and guided her back upstairs to the safety of her room. He stayed with her while she cried, until she eventually dozed off and Jared gently tucked her into bed.

Then Jared left to his own room, closing the door shut behind him, but even so, Jared could still hear the loud voices from down below. It made Jared want to scream—to tell them all to just please stop yelling because Christmas was tomorrow and it wasn’t _right_ for them to be fighting right now. But Jared only sat on his bed, his teeth clenched in frustration and anger.

It was then that Jared was suddenly overcome with this feeling of wanting to escape, to get out and get as far away from everything going on in his house as possible. So Jared did the only thing he could think of doing at fourteen—he snuck out.

He brought his phone with him, but minutes after leaving his house, Jared realized he didn’t really know where to go—he’d only just wanted to get out of the house, to get away from all the yelling. He never really had a destination in mind.

So when he reached into the pocket of the hoodie he’d hastily put on before sneaking out, he was pleasantly surprised to find that he had a few dollars and some change in there.

Winters in Texas typically didn’t involve snow, but even so, it was cold enough outside that with every exhale, Jared was able to see his breath condense into a tiny, transparent cloud inches before his face.

So, with that, Jared decided that he’d walk to the nearest coffee store and buy himself some hot chocolate.

 

Everything had gone perfectly fine, and within fifteen minutes, Jared was walking down the street from the quaint coffee shop he’d found with a smile on his face and a small paper cup full of hot chocolate in his hands that smelled absolutely amazing.

But, of course, it was then that something had to go wrong. Because as Jared finished taking yet another small sip of his warm, delicious hot chocolate, he looked up at the darkening sky, wishing snow wasn’t rare in Texas, and his foot happened to trip on a broken, slightly elevated piece of sidewalk.

Jared could feel his body lurching forwards, so both of his arms abruptly shot forwards to try and stop himself from falling face first onto the sidewalk. Seconds later, Jared was on his knees, his hands on the floor, his extended arms helping to keep his body up and from the ground, and his cup of hot chocolate was laying on the sidewalk a few feet from him. The top had come off and it seemed like a decent portion of the sidewalk had been splashed with the remains of his drink.

“Well…” Jared eyed the now empty cup with a crestfallen look on his face, “this just sucks.”

“Excuse me. Are you alright?”

The unfamiliar voice behind him startled Jared, so he dared to twist his head to look up, only to find himself staring at a tall young man with a built, yet still slender frame. As he stood no more than three feet away from him, Jared couldn’t help but eye the man and take in his appearance.

He sported dark brown cargo boots, slim black jeans, and a short, navy blue coat, and wrapped around his neck was a dark grey scarf that matched the color of the beanie he wore on top of his head. Despite not knowing the man, Jared couldn’t help but think the outfit greatly suited him. But when Jared finally averted his gaze to regard the man’s face, he couldn’t help but feel like someone had knocked the air right out of his lungs.

The man’s skin looked somewhat pale, and his cheeks appeared to be slightly flushed, likely due to the cold, but Jared wondered if the freckles he swore he could see dusting the tops of this man’s nose and cheeks were truly there or just a figment of his imagination. But what really managed to steal Jared’s breath away, were the man’s vibrant, mesmerizing green eyes.

It overwhelmed Jared, just how handsome this man standing before him was.

And suddenly, it struck Jared—somehow, he just _knew_ —that this man was an _alpha_.

Yet, strangely enough, Jared found that he wasn’t overcome with alarm after realizing this.

Usually, when Jared encountered older alphas—especially older _male_ alphas—he’d find himself tensing up and feel quite uneasy. His mind seemingly trying to warning him to get away from them, as if they were somehow dangerous and merely being near them posted some sort of threat to his being.

Jared knew this was something rather common for omegas to feel, but it didn’t explain why _he_ also felt it, especially since he was just a beta.

So it took Jared by surprise to find that this unfamiliar alpha standing before him didn’t make him feel as such; rather, Jared found this the alpha actually made him feel completely at ease.

“You okay there?” the man spoke up, his brow furrowing in concern as he looked steadily down at Jared.

“Uh—” Jared swallowed, feeling rather nervous how, “yeah, I…I’m okay, thanks. I just— I guess I tripped on the sidewalk? Which, uh, isn’t really surprising, since everyone I know knows I’m really, really clumsy.”

An amused smile appeared on the tall alpha’s face and Jared found that he didn’t want to look away.

“Well, I’m glad to hear you’re alright. Here,” the man extended his right hand towards Jared, “let me help you back up.”

Jared hesitated for a second before he reached up to take the alpha’s hand.

And the moment their hands touched, Jared swore he felt a jolt of _something_ zip through his entire body like he’d just been electrocuted, making his body suddenly go absolutely still and his heart skip a beat. Everything around him seem to come to a complete halt then, his own mind suddenly going blank.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” the man eyed Jared carefully after he’d pulled him back up, looking obviously concerned about the young teen yet again.

The alpha’s words snapped Jared back to reality, he blinked a few times as if to try and dispel the fuzziness that’d taken hold of his mind for a moment. And it was then that he came to realize he’d actually been frozen in place for a time while simultaneously holding his breath, his eyes still locked onto the alpha’s face.

“Oh,” Jared finally took in a deep breath, the cold air burning the inside of his lungs, “uh, yeah, I... I'm okay, thanks.” His eyes traveled down to look at where their hands were still connected. Now Jared found himself thinking how soft and incredibly warm the alpha’s hand felt, how there seemed to be a gentleness in the way the other man was holding his hand.

The alpha followed Jared’s gaze and was surprised to discover he’d forgotten to retract his hand after helping the teen back up. Abruptly, he let go and pulled his hand back to stuff it into one of the front pockets of his coat.

He was about to apologize for his unusual behavior when the young teen spoke up again.

“T-Thanks for the help.” Jared averted his gaze, feeling his face grow warm and hoping that if the alpha saw his face he’d think Jared was blushing because of the gelid weather.

“It…” The man paused, seemingly to rethink what he was about to say. “You’re welcome.”

For a few moments, the two merely stood there awkwardly, unsure of what exactly to say or do next, but both seemingly unwilling to part ways and walk away from one another just yet for some inexplicable reason.

A few more seconds of silence followed before the alpha gently cleared his throat and seemed to hesitate for a moment before asking, “I…uh, would you let me buy you a new cup of…whatever it was that you bought to drink before...uh, it was spilled?” 

The question took Jared entirely by surprise.

“I…” Jared wanted nothing more than to say _yes_ , but the warning of _don’t accept anything from strangers_ that his parents had instilled into his mind decided to appropriately pop up in his thoughts at that particular moment, “um, thank you, but I think I should head back home now. I…uh… My parents were sort of…arguing with my brother a while ago, and I sort of just…left.”

Somehow, his words seemed to bring yet another smile from the alpha and Jared felt his heart begin to race restlessly in his chest.

“I used to sneak out a lot back when I was in high school, too. Got into a lot of trouble with my parents for it, of course,” he laughed a bit then, but Jared thought he could detect a hint of sadness in the man’s eyes. “Well, it was very nice meeting you. I should get going too. I hope things settle down at your house soon.”

“Thank you.” But now Jared didn’t want to go. Despite the warning from before still buzzing in his mind, he wanted to continue talking to the alpha, wanted to know everything about him. “I… I hope you have a Merry Christmas.”

“You too,” the man grinned, “and I hope you have a Happy New Year as well.”

Then he turned and began to walk away, and Jared felt his heart give a painful lurch inside his chest as he stood there, watching the mysterious alpha getting further and further away until he finally turned a corner, and then he was gone.

His entire body was trembling now, and Jared knew it wasn’t merely because of the cold. He could feel this strange pull inside of him, right down to his bones, urging him to run after the alpha, but even so, Jared couldn’t push himself to move.

Then everything seemed to just come rushing back when he felt something vibrate in his back pant pocket—it was his phone.

Jared shook his head and quickly reached back to pull out his phone. His mother was calling him.

“Shoot,” he mumbled before he pressed the call button and answered. “Hello? Mom?”

“Jared, where are you?” her voice was sharp.

“Oh, uh…” Jared swallowed, “I just went to get something from the store. But don’t worry, Mom, I’m already on my way back.”

He heard her sigh. “Okay, sweetie. Just…next time please tell me or your father that you’re going out, alright? We were worried when we went up to your room and you weren’t there or anywhere else in the house.”

A wave of guilt washed over Jared. “Yeah, okay. I’m sorry, Mom.”

“It’s okay, Jared,” she gave another sigh, this one sounding rather resigned. “We’ll talk a bit more when you get back, okay?”

“Okay.”

“I love you, sweetie.”

“I love you too, Mom.”

Then as Jared hung up, he took another deep breath before he looked back to the last spot he’d seen the alpha at. In that moment, Jared wished more than anything that he’d at least gotten to know the man’s name.

With a regretful sigh, Jared turned around and began to rush back home.

  


• • •

  


While things seemed to get back to normal the next day, Jared could still feel some tension in the house. But it seemed like, despite whatever happened the day before, Mom, Dad, and Jeff were all trying their best to get along. More precisely, it seemed to Jared like they were just trying not to get into another heated argument, given how he and Megan had reacted yesterday to their fighting. And, Jared guessed, because today was Christmas Day.

But then the day _after_?

Everything began falling apart when Jared woke up feeling terrible that morning, only to find out, hours later, that it was because he was going into heat because he’d presented as an _omega_.

Something that took everyone in his immediate and extended family completely by surprise—but especially Jared, who had been so sure before that day that he was a beta just like both of his parents, his older brother, and the majority of his other relatives.

For the next few days following that, while so much was happening at their home because of this unexpected revelation, and while Jared learned that heats were extremely unpleasant ordeals, Jared couldn’t help but think of the alpha that he’d happened to meet back on Christmas Eve. The alpha whose name he did not know, but wished he did.

So it came as no real surprise to Jared that, during the six long days he spent in heat, the alpha's image would often frequent his dreams as well. What did come as a surprise, though, was that, years later, the alpha's image seemed to have become an integral, almost constant presence in both his dreams and thoughts. That despite his best efforts, Jared could not forget the strange man he'd met for only a handful of minutes on that sole day.

Jared knew he'd likely never see the man again, yet even so, he could not stop his heart from yearning for the alpha, from hoping that, against all odds, perhaps one day in the future he might yet again cross paths with the mysterious alpha with the bright, alluring green eyes that’d somehow managed to steal his heart.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [v3rd3luz](http://v3rd3luz.tumblr.com/), I’d like to apologize immensely for taking so long to update this fic! I was having a really difficult time, so it took me quite a while to write and finish this chapter up. To try and make up for the incredibly long wait, I made this chapter somewhat longer that I originally planned (I usually try to go for 1 to 2k words per chapter for my fics, so me writing over 4k words for this particular chapter was a challenge, hehe). I’m honestly not entirely happy with the chapter though, but I still hope you and everyone else reading this fic will like it. Please leave a comment if you do! ♥

Despite it being nearly six in the morning, as Jared walked into the Fairmont Miramar Hotel & Bungalows, his thoughts drifted back to the handsome alpha he’d happened to meet that particular night back when he was fourteen years old. 

Six long years had passed since then—Jared was now twenty, a junior in college, and working part-time in a luxurious hotel here in Santa Monica—and yet the image of that alpha still haunted his thoughts. 

_Why can’t I forget you?_ Jared thought to himself hopelessly with a slight sigh. 

The question was one Jared had pondered frequently since their sole encounter. They’d only met for a handful of minutes that one day several years ago, and they hadn’t even exchanged names, so Jared couldn’t help but wonder why this particular alpha had made such a strong impression. 

He often found himself thinking back to that Christmas Eve, trying to recall as many details of their meeting as he possibly could in hopes of finding some sort of clue as to why his mind was so focused on this alpha, but to no avail. The entire ordeal remained a complete mystery to Jared. 

Yet Jared still found himself thinking back to that night as he continued walking inside the hotel.

He could still imagine the man’s smiling face, those brilliant, kind green eyes—the mere thought of the alpha continued to make his heart ache. But when Jared turned a corner and saw a familiar face behind the hotel’s front concierge desk, he stood up straighter and pushed those thoughts away. 

“Good morning, Jeffrey!” he greeted the familiar man with a wide smile as he approached him. “How are you on this fine Friday morning?” 

Jeffrey shook his head, but there was a fond smile on his face as he replied, “Jared, as I’m sure you’re well aware, it’s not even six in the morning yet. I’m pretty sure I’m half asleep at this point.” 

A light laugh slipped past Jared’s lips as he walked behind the concierge desk to join Jeffrey.

 

A few months after starting his first year at UCLA, after applying to numerous jobs and going to several interviews, Jared had eventually been interviewed by Jeffrey Dean Morgan at the Fairmont Miramar Hotel & Bungalows. He’d been terrified of the man at first, and after the interview was done, Jared’s hands had been sweating. By the time Jared got back to his apartment that day, he’d locked himself in his room for a few hours, feeling sure that he’d messed up in the interview and wouldn’t be hired. Yet, to his surprise, two days later, he’d gotten a call informing him that he’d gotten the job. 

It hadn’t taken Jared long to befriend most of his coworkers, seeing as most were omegas and betas, but he’d been hesitant to try and befriend Jeffrey himself, seeing as the man was not only his superior at work, but because the man was an alpha more than twenty years older than him. That Jeffrey also acted rather gruff had also intimidated Jared, and made him too apprehensive to try and befriend the alpha. 

But after around three weeks of working at the hotel, Jared had finally been able to approach Jeffrey, and soon after that, the two had started talking. It was thanks to his coworkers, including Jeffrey, that Jared quickly become acclimated to LA, and later with most of the surrounding cities as well. Truthfully, Jared was extremely grateful towards them all, seeing as he’d only visited LA for a few days during his senior year back in high school so he could see the UCLA campus in person, and was thus completely unfamiliar with the entire area until his coworkers and friends had slowly begun to show him around.

 

“Just a warning,” Jeffrey began, “but I overheard the girls talking last night during their break, and apparently, there’s this rumor going around that we might be getting some real famous celebrity here later today or tomorrow.” 

But Jared merely rolled his eyes. “When do we ever have regular guests stay here? Honestly, most of all our guests are celebrities or millionaires, or even both.”

Jeffrey cracked a smile at that. “You’re right, but the girls seemed to be particularly excited about this one. Heard them say it’s going to be some actor from one of their favorite shows or something.” 

“An actor, huh?” Jared raised a brow in amusement. “Did the girls happen to mention from what show?” 

“Hm.” A pensive look crossed Jeffrey’s face. “I think the show’s called… _Supernatural_?”

“Oh.” Jared stood for a moment there, deep in thought. “Well, I’ve never seen the show, but I think I might’ve heard Chad talk about it before. I recall him going on and on about this show about two brothers that hunt paranormal stuff all over the country. He kept trying to make me watch it for a time, but I always declined his offers to watch it because I just had too much to do most of the time.” 

“I haven’t seen the show either,” Jeffrey admitted, “but from the way the girls talk about this actor, I’m expecting a Greek god to just waltz into our hotel at any given moment.”

“A Greek god?” Jared chuckled. “Wow, then this actor must really be something. Now I’m curious. Did the girls mention who it might be—the actor’s name, I mean?”

“Well, they might’ve mentioned who, but…” Jeffrey gave a sheepish grin as he shrugged his shoulders, “I wasn’t paying that much attention to them at the time, to be honest. I wasn’t really interested in knowing. I just heard them yelling about that and then I tuned them out.”

“Well then,” Jared couldn’t help but grin, “I guess we’ll just have to see who it might be then.” 

“You mean that _you’ll_ just have to see,” corrected Jeffrey with a smile as he shook his head slightly, “now that you’re here, I’m going to be taking my leave. Promised Hilarie I’d take her out on a date later today since I managed to get the rest of the day off.” 

“Oh!” A pleasant smile appeared on Jared’s face. “Well I hope you two have a great time then! Please say ‘hello’ to Hilarie for me.”

“Thanks, Jared,” Jeffrey offered Jared a gentle smile, “I’ll tell her you said ‘hi’. You going to be alright working the concierge desk on your own today? If not, I can get Derek or Alexis to help you out later.”

“Nah, it’s alright, I’ll be fine on my own. You’ve taught me well, Mr. Morgan.” When Jared bowed his head slightly, Jeffrey let out a laugh as he walked away from behind the concierge desk. 

“Alright then, but either way,” Jeffrey’s face was now serious, “if anything pops up, just send me a text, okay?” 

“Okay, I will,” Jared acquiesced with a soft huff. 

Another smile appeared on Jeffrey’s face. “Alright then. Good luck, Jared. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Bye, Jeffrey!”

As Jeffrey turned and walked away, Jared silently prayed that nothing disastrous would happen at the hotel while Jeffrey was away. 

 

• • •

 

“Hi there,” the voice caused Jared to look away from the computer monitor up towards a man standing before the counter wearing a navy blue cap with the Dallas Cowboys logo on it and a pair of black sunglasses. 

Jared assumed the man had likely been trying to look as inconspicuous as possible, but wearing an outfit like that indoors, Jared couldn’t help but think the man actually stood out even more. 

He bit back a laugh and instead gave the man a polite smile. “Hello, sir. How may I help you?” 

“Oh, uh…” the man reached up with his left hand to take off his cap and then with his right to pull off his sunglasses. “Sorry ‘bout that. I shouldn’t continue wearing this since I don’t really need them anymore, right? I probably looked really silly with these on in here.” 

He gave a light laugh and smiled sheepishly at Jared, but the moment he’d taken off his sunglasses, Jared had felt like someone had knocked the air right out of his lungs as he found himself seeing the same pair of brilliant green eyes that had been plaguing his thoughts for over six years now. 

This man standing no more than a few feet away from Jared across the concierge counter was the same exact alpha that he’d seen that eventful Christmas Eve six years ago. The man looked older now, but Jared was absolutely sure—the alpha from back then and this alpha standing before him were one in the same. 

“Is everything okay?” The words shook Jared from his brief reverie. 

The man was eyeing him with a concerned look, and Jared couldn’t help but suddenly think back to that day when the man had given him the same exact look as he’d helped him get back up after falling down on the ground.

“I… I apologize, sir,” Jared finally found his voice, feeling rather embarrassed for letting himself get so lost in his own thoughts. “How may I help you?” 

“Oh, it’s alright,” the alpha gave Jared a reassuring smile, “I just… I reserved a suite online the day before, under the name J. Ackles?” 

“Of course,” Jared immediately averted his gaze back towards the computer screen and began typing in the name. He mentally prayed that he wouldn’t blush before the alpha, but he figured the request was pointless because he could feel just how warm his face really was now. “I see your reservation—you booked a Palisades Suite, is that correct?”

“Yeah,” the alpha gave Jared a kind smile, “that’s it.”

“Very well then,” Jared turned around and grabbed the room’s keycard and turned to place it on the desk before the alpha. “There you are, sir—here’s the keycard to your suite. Will you be needing any assistance getting your belongings to the room?” 

The man grabbed the keycard. “Thank you for the offer, but I’ll be okay. I’ve only brought a backpack and a duffle bag with me, so I’m perfectly alright carrying these to the room on my own.” 

“Very well then, sir,” Jared could feel his heart racing in his chest, the blood pounding in his ears, “should you need anything else at any point during your stay, please feel free to call us from the phone in your suite.” 

“I’ll keep that in mind. Thank you very much…” he eyed the name tag on Jared’s suit for a few seconds before looking back up at Jared, “Jared. I really appreciate the help. I hope you have a good day.” 

“Thank you, sir,” Jared struggled to keep his voice steady, “may you have a pleasant stay here at the Fairmont Miramar Hotel & Bungalows.”

“Please,” the alpha said with a warm smile, “call me Jensen.”

Jared felt like he couldn’t breathe, his mind suddenly going blank after the realization that he now knew the alpha’s name. 

_Jensen._

“Very well,” he paused briefly to swallow before he finished in a soft, careful voice, “Jensen.” 

Jensen’s smile seemed to widen, and Jared found himself captivated by how tiny crinkles appeared at the outer corners of the alpha’s vibrant green eyes when he smiled. “Thanks again, Jared.” 

And suddenly the alpha—Jensen—was walking away, and Jared could feel that same feeling from the last time they met all those years ago overwhelm him. The ache in his bones telling him to get up and go after the alpha. Yet, just like before, Jared merely remained standing there, behind the counter, watching Jensen as he walked away until, once more, he was gone. 

 

It was seconds later, as Jared stood staring absently at the computer screen before him, his hands curled into painfully tight fists by his sides in an attempt to minimize their shaking as he took deep, slow breaths to try and ease the uncomfortable tightness in his chest, that something finally clicked in his mind. 

Jared shut his eyes as he let out a shaky breath of air.

Suddenly, everything made sense now, and Jared wondered how he hadn’t realized it earlier. 

This alpha—Jensen—was his true mate. 

 

• • •

 

“Uh…okay, so…” Jared was sure he’d never seen Chad look this confused and speechless before. “I don’t… I think I might’ve heard you wrong. So, uh…can you say that again?”  

Jared would have found Chad’s reaction amusing if he wasn’t still completely shaken by the revelation. 

“I…” Jared hesitantly began, “I’m pretty sure I met my true mate today at work. He’s, uh… He’s actually the same alpha I told you about before? The one I met that one day back when I was just a freshman in high school.” 

“And, just to be clear, this guy—your true mate—just, apparently, happens to be Jensen freakin’ Ackles? The true star of _Supernatural_?” 

“Uh…well…” Jared’s cheeks grew warm and he averted his gaze slightly, “I guess so? I only found out his name today. I honestly had no idea he was famous until you told me.” 

Chad’s hands rose up to cover his face, “I should’ve known something like this was eventually bound to happen. Of course fate would do something like this to me. My best friend’s true mate is a freakin’ actor. And not just any actor…no, it just so happens that it’s the actor of one of my favorite TV shows.”

Chad let a groan and Jared, suddenly feeling worried, tried to get his friend’s attention. “Chad…?”

“You know what this means?” Jared only shook his head as Chad removed his hands to stare at Jared with an expressionless look. “Since we’re best friends, you’re totally gonna need to introduce me to your future husband, because I’d really like to get a photo with him, and an autograph too, of course. Just image how envious everyone else will be to know that I got to take a picture with _Dean Winchester_!” 

“Fuck, Chad,” Jared let out a short, relieved laugh, “you had me going for a moment there, I thought you were upset about all this.” 

“What? Me, upset?” Chad gave Jared a bewildered look. “Jare, my main man, can you not see just how freakin’ amazing this is? Your true mate is _Jensen Ackles_! I’m fuckin’ ecstatic! Because, I don’t know if you realize this yet, but since we’re best friends, once you mate and marry Ackles, I’m pretty sure I’ll get to meet some of his very fine, and also very rich, friends. Who knows, I might even get to meet Tom Welling. Because, have you seen the man? He may be an alpha, but I swear…”

When Chad wiggled his eyebrows suggestively after finishing his sentence, Jared began to laugh. His hands then reached up to cover his flushed face. “Chad,” came Jared’s muffled voice between laughs, “oh man, of course you’d think of that.” 

“Just goes to show you I’ve got my priorities straight,” Chad replied with a smirk as he nodded his head briefly. Jared continued to laugh and, unable to stop himself, Chad joined in the laughter as well. 

Minutes later, when both Jared and Chad had calmed down and were sitting down in silence, Chad finally dared to ask, “So, now that you know Ackles is your true mate, what’re you thinking of doing? Are you gonna find a way to somehow approach him at work?” 

“Honestly? I have no idea,” Jared replied with a sigh as ran his hand back through his hair. “As you know, nearly all of my relatives are betas, including my parents, so even after I presented as an omega, despite their best efforts to help me understand my dynamic, they didn’t really tell me much about true mates.

“I had to read up about true mates on my own, and all I could really find was that when true mates finally meet one another, a strong connection forms between them, that they sort of imprint on one another in that moment they meet. The connection is supposed to be mutual, but…” Jared’s voice fell to a whisper, “there have been cases where the connection isn’t mutual, where one individual feels the connection, but the other doesn’t.

“I… When Jensen and I met again, I felt it. I think that maybe the connection between us originally formed back when I was 14, but our meeting had been so brief, and I’d been so young back then. So I didn’t really think it was even a possibility. Now though, I got to see him again, and the feelings from before, I felt them again. I… I can’t really explain how I know it, but I just do. 

“But Jensen didn’t say or do anything during either of our two encounters. He acted as if nothing had happened.” There came a pause, and Jared frowned. “What if I’m wrong, Chad? What if we’re not true mates, what if our connection is one-sided? What if I’m the only one feeling this? Or worse, what if he’s already mated to someone else?” 

At seeing the panicked, forlorn expression on his friend’s face, Chad couldn’t help but place a comforting hand on Jared’s shoulder, “Jare, dude, don’t worry about it. You know that unrequited bonds like that are rare, like, one-in-a-million rare. Plus, I’m about a hundred percent sure that Ackles is single. He’s been with a few omegas and betas before, from what I recall, but the last time I heard anything about him being with someone was years ago. So I’m pretty sure Ackles is still mateless.

“And as for why Ackles might not’ve said anything about you two being true mates...” a pensive expression appeared on Chad’s face as he continued, “I’m not really sure what that might be about. Maybe he didn’t want to cause a scene at the hotel or something? Or maybe he was in a rush? You know celebs, those guys seem to have things they need to do all the damn time.”

“Yeah, you’re right...” was Jared’s resigned response. Then, an abrupt thought crossed Jared’s mine and his eyes grew wide. “Oh fuck, Chad, what if…what if he’s disappointed?” Before Chad could try to interrupt and ask him what he was talking about, Jared continued, his voice frantic, “I mean, he’s a huge TV star—and then he comes to find out his one true mate is some lanky kid working in a hotel? Oh fuck,” Jared hung his head and his locks of hair cascaded down around his head as if attempting to hide him away, “he must’ve felt so ashamed to find out I’m his true mate. That’s probably why he didn’t say anything...” 

Chad let out a sigh as he frowned. Then he said in a rather melodramatic voice, “Well…you gotta point there, man—Ackles is a freakin’ millionaire, and you’re just a twenty-year-old dude studying to get his undergrad degree in Mathematics from UCLA—I’m betting he’s feeling pretty bummed out right now knowing that you’re his true mate.” 

“Chad…” Jared groaned, “you’re not helping.” 

Chad just let out a short laugh before patting his friend gently on the back, “Dude, relax, you know I was just kidding.” Then he sighed, his face and voice becoming serious, “Look, Jare, you’re a steal—any alpha would be fuckin’ _blessed_ to have you as their omega. So if Ackles doesn’t see and realize that, then…I’m sorry, but even if he’s incredibly handsome, famous, and filthy rich, I’m gonna feel sorry for him because it’s gonna be his freakin’ loss.”

Hearing his friend’s assuring words, Jared looked up and gave Chad a small smile, “Thanks, Chad, you’re a good friend.” 

Chad let out a huff of air, yet there was a pleased smirk on his face as he replied, “I think you meant to say ‘gee, Chad, I think you’re absolutely amazing! You’re, by far, the bestest friend ever! I’d be utterly lost without you!’”

“Dude,” Jared couldn’t help but giggle after hearing Chad’s attempt at a falsetto voice, “I totally do not sound like that.” 

“Whatever, you know you do.” Chad got up then. “So hey, now that you know who your true mate is, and since tomorrow’s Saturday, you finally wanna give _Supernatural_ a try? I mean, so you can see just who exactly your true mate is and what he does for a living?” 

Jared seemed to hesitate, but then a resigned look appeared on his face as he finally gave a sigh and replied, “Yeah, fine, alright—I’ll give it a try.”

Chad raised a close fist into the air, “Hell yeah! Alright, just lemme go get all my _Supernatural_ DVDs from my room!” As he began to walk towards his room, Chad paused to look back at Jared and added, “Also, you might wanna get us some snacks because, I don’t know about you, but I’m kinda starving right now.” 

“Chad, you say I’d be lost without you, but I’m pretty sure it’s the other way around,” Jared replied with a smirk, “because without me here, you’d probably go hungry.” 

Chad rolled his eyes and scoffed, but he couldn’t keep the grin off his face as he replied, “Yeah, yeah, sure, whatever—just get us some chips or something, maybe make some popcorn too, and don’t forget the drinks!” 

With that, Chad turned back around and rushed towards his room. With a smile on his face, Jared got up and walked towards the kitchen, wondering what exactly he’d just gotten himself into. 

 

• • •

 

It was nearly four in the morning when Jared was finally lying down on his bed. His mind finally attempting to process and synthesize everything he’d experienced and learned today in regards to his true mate. 

Having now watched the first half of season one of _Supernatural_ with Chad, Jared was sure he was even more enthralled with Jensen than he’d been before. 

After finding out that his true mate was famous, that he was an actor, he’d kept the fact in mind, but it’d been more of a distant thought. Now, after watching eleven episodes of Jensen fighting supernatural creatures with his little brother—some actor Jared had honestly paid little attention to as he’d been too absorbed in watching Jensen—the reality of that fact was hitting him hard. 

Jensen was _incredible_. 

And now, thanks to Chad, Jared came to realize that Jensen was actually an amazing actor, one that continuously filled him with awe when he saw him acting as Dean Winchester. Jared now felt like he understood, it was no wonder why some of his coworkers had been excited about the possibility of Jensen coming to stay in their hotel. 

Now, Jared had all of Chad’s _Supernatural_ DVDs on his desk. As Chad had graciously handed them over to him right after they’d finished watching _Scarecrow_ and Jared had suggested they stop for the night because he had work tomorrow morning and he wanted to at least get a few hours of sleep tonight. Though Jared had seen the gleam in Chad’s eyes as his friend had told him to hold onto the disks for now, in case he wanted to continue watching the show later on during his own time. 

But as Jared lay in bed, he felt an uncomfortable feeling pool deep in his gut—he knew what his body was trying to tell him. He was anxious—anxious about possibly seeing Jensen at work again. Yet it was more than just that that worried him. Because despite Chad’s earlier words of comfort, Jared was still terrified that, should he meet Jensen again, the alpha would think him unworthy as a mate and dismiss him. 

Because no matter what Chad told him, Jared knew he and Jensen came from two different worlds—Jared was just a college student working part-time in a hotel, and Jensen was a stunning, famous Hollywood actor. And to top it off, when Jared had looked Jensen up on his phone during the time he was supposed to get some snacks for him and Chad, he’d come to find out that Jensen was currently thirty-two years old. Meaning that there was an age difference of _twelve years_ between them. 

An age difference over ten years between true mates wasn’t exactly unheard of, but it also wasn’t typically considered a common occurrence. Most matings that had such a large age gap ended up bringing lots of attention and controversy. 

And since Jensen was also a celebrity, Jared could already begin to imagine all the possible commotion their mating would likely create. The mere thought of it all made Jared’s heart beat faster in his chest. 

Truthfully, Jared wished he could stop his mind from worrying about everything, if only so that he could try to fall asleep now. But his mind was ringing with worried thoughts, and it was nearly impossible to stifle all the anxious _what ifs_ his mind would come up with.

The intense dread that welled up inside Jared at the thought of seeing Jensen again and being rejected as a mate made his chest feel uncomfortably tight, like he couldn’t breathe. In that moment, a part of Jared wished he could just stay in his room for the next few days, or possibly for the next few weeks of his life, but at the same time, it was difficult to ignore the longing he clearly still felt in his heart.

But it was unavoidable, despite the apprehension, Jared wanted to see Jensen again—he _needed_ to.

_Fuck_ , Jared thought to himself as he dug his face into his pillow and let out a muffled, frustrated groan, _what am I going to do?_


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for taking so long to write up and post this chapter. I was feeling very down earlier this year, and then after that, my family decided to move. So, at the moment, things in my life are still a bit hectic, but after several weeks of working on this chapter, I finally managed to finish it up. Also, as you might’ve noticed, I changed this story’s total chapter count—we’re almost to the end everyone.
> 
> I hope you all enjoy the chapter! Please leave a comment if you do, your comments mean the world to me. ♥ And don’t worry, Jared and Jensen will finally meet once more and talk in the next chapter!
> 
> Lastly, I'd just like so say that I would not have been able to finish this chapter without the unwavering support and help from [charliewaits](http://charliewaits.tumblr.com/)—thank you! (*´◡`*)♥

As soon as Jensen locked the hotel room door behind him, he fell back and let the door support him, his backpack pushing onto his back uncomfortably. Despite having made it to his room with ease, his entire body was now trembling. His legs felt weak, as if at any given moment they might suddenly decided to give way under him and send him toppling down until he collided with the floor. His chest felt constricted, like he wasn’t breathing in enough air. And it was hard to ignore the painfully fast beating of his heart, the identical pulsing of blood rushing in his ears. 

Jensen stood there for a few more moments, trying his best to take slow, deep breaths, and praying in his thoughts that his heart and body would calm down as soon as possible.

A few minutes later, when he began to feel better, Jensen took in one last deep breath before finally venturing into his hotel room. 

His eyes quickly glanced over everything in the sitting room portion of his Palisades Suite before he continued walking towards the bedroom. When he ultimately spotted the large, comfortable king-sized bed, he immediately placed all his bags at the foot of the bed and proceeded to sit down on the edge of the mattress. 

There was no denying it. 

The young man at the concierge desk was his true mate. The very same teen Jensen had accidentally run into about six years back during that one Christmas Eve he’d happened to have been in San Antonio for. The teen was older now, but there was no mistaking him—he still had those same dazzling, slightly slanted hazel eyes that had captivated Jensen all those years ago. 

Jensen had been so sure that he'd never run into the boy again, that their initial encounter would also be their last. Back then Jensen had even doubted that the young teen could possibly be his true mate. The teen had looked so young then—much younger than him—and his scent had been neither that of an omega or an alpha, so Jensen had assumed him to be a beta. Which had honestly puzzled Jensen, because he’d always thought his true mate would be an omega as he was an alpha. 

But after their encounter, as days turned into weeks and then into months, the teen’s face continued to haunt Jensen’s thoughts, even his dreams. And now, several years later, Jensen still found himself thinking of the young teen, the way his iridescent eyes lit up when he smiled, the adorable dimples that’d appeared on his rosy cheeks when he grinned. 

Yet now, Jensen was sure—that teen and the young man at the concierge desk where one and the same. 

And Jensen finally knew his first name.

_Jared._

And Jared was not only just his true mate—thanks to their encounter today, Jensen also knew something else about him, something momentous.

Jared was an _omega._

 _His_ omega.

It was rather baffling, seeing as he’d been thinking of Jared as a beta all this time, but Jensen wondered if perhaps Jared might’ve happened to present as an omega at some point after their initial encounter. 

Now, knowing that Jared was his true mate, his omega, and that he was actually here, in the same building as him, Jensen knew he had to find a way to approach the young man again. 

The connection between true mates is meant to be mutual, something felt by both following their initial encounter, so Jensen knew it was very likely that Jared also know they were true mates now. 

Yet worry gnawed at the back of Jensen’s mind

Would Jared even want to accept him as his alpha? Jensen had no idea what Jared’s true age might be, but he suspected there’d be a noticeable age gap between them. Would Jared be alright with that? Or would he think Jensen too old? Would he prefer to have a mate closer to his own age? Would Jensen’s fame pose a problem? 

Then there was something else that worried Jensen, something even worse—what if Jared just didn’t end up liking him? What if he didn’t want Jensen to be his mate? What if there was already someone Jared was involved with? 

There was no denying that Jensen was attracted to Jared, that despite only having met Jared twice now his heart had clung hopelessly to him since their first meeting after realizing the young teen was his true mate. That over the years, despite the knowledge, Jensen had tried to move on, fully believing his hopes in meeting the young teen again were futile. 

He’d dated a few omegas since then, even a few betas, but while he had cared for his partners, Jensen knew he’d be lying if he said those feelings could hold a flame to what he felt for the teen. So while Jensen had tried his best to hide and bury those peculiar feelings, his heart had been adamant in keeping them stored safely away, in quietly pleading to Jensen to not give up hope just yet. 

And now, having seen him again, only to know for sure that he was his omega, his true mate, Jensen was rather amazed he’d able to keep his cool the moment he’d first seen Jared and realized he was the same young teen he’d seen all those years ago. 

Jensen’s pretty sure it was thanks to all his years of acting that he’d managed to seem like his heart wasn’t racing painfully in his chest, like his hands weren’t clammy and trembling by his sides, like he wasn’t having difficulties breathing, like he wasn’t on the verge of breaking down in that moment. 

But now, being in the safety of his hotel room, Jensen felt absolutely exhausted—his entire body feeling weary from the intense anxiety he’d felt only moments before. He wanted nothing more than to lie down on the soft bed he was on and take a short nap to recharge. To let his mind rest before it was overcome with even more anxious thoughts. 

Yet he knew right now wasn’t the time for that. 

With trembling hands, Jensen reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out his cell phone. He sat there for a moment, merely staring down at the dark screen with a solemn, pensive expression on his face before he finally decided on something. 

Steeling himself for what he was about to do, Jensen took in another deep breath of air and quickly unlocked his phone’s screen and dialed a familiar number. He brought the phone right up to his ear and took in another deep breath.

The phone rang three times before a gruff voice answered, “Hey dude, what’s up?” 

“Chris…” Jensen closed his eyes and hated the way his voice broke, “I saw _him_ again.” 

There was absolute silence for a few, long seconds before Chris finally spoke, “Oh shit—are you okay?” 

At hearing his friend’s concerned voice, Jensen couldn’t help but give a weak smile, “I… I wasn’t prepared to suddenly see him again today after all these years, especially here in Cali, of all places, but—fuck—Chris, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t happy I got to see him again.” 

“Fuck,” Chris let out a breath of air, “what happened? Do you finally know his name? Did you guys get a chance to talk things out? What’d he say?”

“I don’t know his last name, but his first name is Jared. And, well…” Jensen hesitated for a moment before continuing, “you know how I decided to stay at the Fairmont here in Santa Monica during my break, right?” 

“Yeah, so?” But before Jensen could answer, Chris spoke again. “Shit, wait—don’t tell me, you saw him there?” 

“Yeah, I did,” Jensen sighed, “and you won’t believe how—he works there, Chris. He was working at the concierge desk of the hotel right when I got here to check into my room.”

Chris let out a low whistle, “Damn. But what’d he say to you? He recognized you, right?” At that, Jensen remained silent. “Jen?”

“Chris, I…” He let out a shaky breath of air. “I honestly can’t know for sure if he recognized me or not. I mean, he didn’t say anything about that, but when he looked at me, he looked fuckin’ terrified.” 

There were a few seconds of silence. “Didn’t _you_ tell him that you two are true mates?” 

“No, I…” a sudden, overpowering wave of guilt and embarrassment washed over Jensen, “Chris, I fuckin’ panicked. I saw him and panicked and tried my best to act like I wasn’t freakin’ out. So no, I… I didn’t tell him anything.”

Chris let out a breath of air. “Shit, Jen…”

“But I’ve been thinkin’, Chris, what if he doesn’t remember me?” Jensen tried to ignore how his heart lurched painfully in his chest at the thought, “I mean, we only interacted for, maybe, two minutes tops that one day six years ago. And we didn’t even exchange names or anything.”

“Jen, you know you won’t know for sure unless you talk to him.” There was a pause then.“I mean, for all you know, the kid still remembers you, and him seeing you again today really took him by surprise too, especially since he saw you while he was working.” 

“I… I know I should talk to him, but what if our bond isn’t mutual? What if it’s one-sided? Or worse, what if he thinks I’m too old to be his mate? What if my fame bothers him? What if he just doesn’t want me as his alpha?” 

“Don’t sell yourself short, Jen. And I’m pretty sure your bond is mutual, because while one-sided bonds do exist, we both know they’re extremely rare.” Chris paused again and seemed to take a deep breath. “Look, Jen, as one of your best friends, I suggest you go talk to him after we hang up. Just go up to him and ask him if you two can talk after his shift at work ends.” 

Before Jensen could interject, Chris continued, “If not, I’ll get in my car right now and head on over there so I can knock some sense into you, and if I have to drag you to wherever Jared is and force you to talk to him, then shit, I’ll do that too.” 

Jensen let out a nervous chuckle, “Gee Chris, you definitely have a way with words.” 

“Of course I fuckin’ do,” Chris huffed, “now get yourself moving. I gotta go eat something before I head on over to the studio to practice with Steve and the gang in a bit.” 

“Fine,” Jensen shook his head, a small smile tugging at the edges of his lips, “good luck with y’all’s practice today. Tell Steve and everyone else I said ‘hi’.” 

“Will do,” Chris spoke, “and good luck to you too, Jen. I’ll be waiting to hear back from you afterwards so you can tell me how everything went, alright?”

“Thanks man. And alright, I’ll talk to you later, Chris.”

“See ya, Jen.”

As Jensen ended the call and placed his phone on the bed beside him, he looked around. A heavy, stifling silence seemed to engulf the room, one that left Jensen feeling on edge. 

He let out a deep breath of air as he reached up and ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. 

The thought of staying any longer in the quiet room made Jensen anxious. He needed to get out, too look for Jared—every inch of his mind urged him to see Jared just one more time, to physically be near him like some sort of craving that needed to be sated. 

It was inevitable. Jensen knew Chris was right, he had to go and find Jared and talk to him right now. But the thought of leaving his room as he currently was made his skin crawl. 

_No,_ Jensen thought to himself, _I’ll just take a quick shower and then head on over to the concierge desk._

 

Nodding to himself, Jensen quickly got up and walked over to his bag. But as he opened his duffle bag, Jensen suddenly felt like slapping himself. He’d come to the hotel to take it easy, to get away from work for a few days and just relax before their break ended and he’d have to return to filming for _Supernatural_.

He never expected to run into his true mate here. He never planned on wanting to look nice at any point during his stay here.

_Fuck._

Jensen tried not to groan out in despair as he looked down at all the t-shirts and jeans he’d packed in his bag.

He ran his right hand nervously through his hair as he tried to think of what to do. For a second, Jensen debated leaving the hotel to pick up some nicer clothes, but he quickly brushed the thought away knowing he didn’t have the time for that. 

With a frustrated sigh, Jensen merely zipped the bag back up and took it with him to the bathroom. 

 

Jensen eyed his reflection in the large bathroom mirror. He was wearing fitted, dark blue jeans and a solid black v-neck tee. As unsatisfied as Jensen felt about his appearance, he knew he’d already taken far too long to get ready. 

His eyes slowly drifted down to glance at his wristwatch. Nearly two hours had passed since he’d called Chris. He closed his eyes and mentally reprimanded himself. 

It was now or never.

He gave one last look at his reflection before he took in a deep, shaky breath and let it out. With a nod, Jensen grabbed his phone from the top of the large bathroom sink counter and left. 

 

Hesitantly, Jensen stepped out of the elevator and took a deep breath as the elevator doors closed behind him. Knowing he couldn’t back out now, he pushed himself to continue walking towards where he knew the concierge desk to be. But seconds later, as he turned a corner, he quickly took notice of one vital thing: Jared wasn’t at the concierge desk anymore. Someone else was there.

_Fuck._

Now suddenly unsure of what to do, Jensen quickly took a seat on one of the chairs in the lobby. Eyeing the concierge desk for a moment, Jensen pondered the idea of getting up and merely asking the person there about Jared. But fearing the outcome of being questioned and possibly starting some commotion and gossip in the hotel, he immediately turned away and cast the idea aside. 

With a weary sigh, Jensen couldn't help but feel the disappointment weigh heavily in his chest. His heart lurching in dismay at the realization that Jared was now gone. That he’d lost his chance to see and talk to his omega once more today.

Knowing it was likely that Jared had gone home by now, Jensen knew it'd be rather pointless to continue staying in the lobby. Taking a deep breath, Jensen got up, turned around, and began making his way back towards the elevator he’s just gotten out not even two minutes before. 

For now, he was going to return to his room, order some food, and then proceed to call Chris and hope that his friend wouldn’t threaten to come over and really knock some sense into him for taking too long and losing the perfect chance to talk to Jared. 

 

• • •

 

There was a loud knock at the door, nearly startling Jensen. He took a deep breath before he got up and walked up to the room’s door. He let out the breath of air he was holding and forced himself to relax right before he reached up and pulled open the door. 

There was stout man standing before him, wearing a black suit, eyeing him with a strange gleam in his eyes. Before Jensen could say anything, the man spoke, “Hello Mr. Ackles, my name is Alejandro Gonzales, I am the manager of this hotel. I am here to officially welcome you to the Fairmont Miramar Hotel & Bungalows. Has everything so far today been to your liking?” 

“Oh, uh,” Jensen hesitated, unsure of what exactly to say for a moment, “everything’s been great so far. I’ve been here before, and everything’s always as I expect. You run a very nice hotel here, Mr. Gonzales.” 

At the words, Jensen noticed how Alejandro seemed to straighten out his back. 

“I am very glad to hear that, Mr. Ackles,” Alejandro gave a polite smile, “should you ever need anything during your stay here, there is a phone in your suite that you may use. One of our attendants will be more than happy to assist you.”

Suddenly an idea hit Jensen. “Mr. Gonzales, may I speak to you privately for a moment?” 

“Of course, Mr. Ackles,” was Alejandro’s quick reply. When Jensen moved aside and asked him to come in and take a seat, Alejandro sat down on one of the chairs in the sitting room and waited for Jensen to close the door and then proceed to sit down on another chair as well. 

“How may I be of assistance to you?” Alejandro asked after they were both seated.

Jensen tried his best not to look as nervous as he felt, “When I got here, there was a young man at the reception desk—I believe his name is Jared. He was very nice and polite and, if it’s possible, I’d very much like to thank him somehow for his great hospitality.” 

“Ah, yes—Jared,” Alejandro nodded, looking rather proud in that moment, “for being so young, he is indeed a very good worker.” 

“Oh,” Jensen felt his heart begin to race uncomfortably in his chest when the man himself mentioned Jared, “is he really that young?”

A pensive look crossed Alejandro's features. “Well, if I recall correctly, Jared moved here from somewhere out of state to attend UCLA. And he started working here during his first year there, so he’s been with us for nearly three years now.” 

“Wow,” Jensen said, feeling somewhat breathless, “that… That’s pretty amazing.” 

“It is,” Alejandro beamed. “If that is all, Mr. Ackles, I will take my leave now. Please rest assured that I will ensure Jared is rewarded accordingly for his great work today, and that I will also pass along your thanks to him.”

“Would—” Jensen cut himself off, unsure if he should continue or not for a moment knowing what he was about to say was a lie, but immediately after decided he had nothing to lose. “I, uh— I actually have a nephew who’s going to graduate from high school soon, and he’s looking to go to a college right here in Cali, but I don’t really know much about them. I’d really like to try and help him though. Do you think I could approach Jared and ask him about UCLA? I’m sure he must know what some of the best colleges here would be.” 

“Oh,” a surprised look briefly crossed Alejandro’s face, “of course, Mr. Ackles. I’m sure Jared would be more than pleased to speak with you and answer any questions you might have. Unfortunately, his shift today has already ended, but he will be working here tomorrow morning and afternoon once again at the concierge desk.” 

A wave of relief washed over Jensen at hearing that Jared would indeed be here tomorrow. 

“Thank you very much, Mr. Gonzales,” Jensen couldn’t stop the smile that made its way onto his face, “I really appreciate it.”

“I am happy to be of service, Mr. Ackles,” Alejandro smiled in return. “Now, if that will be all, I’ll take my leave now.”

Both men stood up and walked towards the entrance. Jensen opened the door and allowed Alejandro to step out. “Thank you again, Mr. Gonzales.” 

Alejandro bowed slightly. “You’re most welcome. Good day, Mr. Ackles.” And with those last words, he turned around and left. 

When the door closed behind him, Jensen let out a large breath of air. His chest felt uncomfortably tight, as if he’d been holding his breath for far too long.

“Fuck,” he whispered under his breath at the realization that he was very likely going to see Jared again tomorrow. 

He looked around the room for a moment before he quickly walked over to the door and made sure it was locked. Then he walked back towards the bedroom and sat down on the foot of the bed. 

For a few minutes, Jensen merely sat there, his mind buzzing with thoughts of tomorrow and what might happen. But eventually, he took a deep breath and pulled out his phone and unlocked the screen. Unsure if Chris would still be at the studio practicing with his band or not, Jensen decided to send Chris quick text.

Not ten seconds had passed before his phone was ringing. Jensen grinned and answered the phone. “Hello?”

Chris sighed, “I knew I should’ve gone over there.” 

“Chris, don’t worry, the manager came to talk to me about my stay here, and he mentioned that Jared’ll be working here tomorrow morning. I’ll talk to him then.”

“I swear, Jensen,” Chris growled, “if you end up telling me tomorrow that you still weren’t able to approach and talk to Jared, I don’t care if I have to move heaven and earth, I will go straight over there and make it so you two can finally talk to one another.” 

Jensen tried not to wince at hearing Chris’ words. “I, uh—I’m pretty sure I’ll get to talk to Jared tomorrow.” 

“You better.” Chris paused. “So, tell me a bit more about Jared. I mean, what does the kid look like now?” 

“Oh, well, to start with, he’s not a kid anymore. From what the hotel manager told me, Jared’s likely a junior at UCLA, so I’m pretty sure Jared’s at least twenty years old now, if not older.” 

“Huh. Then I guess that means there’s still probably gonna be something like a ten-year age gap between you two, right?” 

“Yeah,” Jensen couldn’t stop himself from wincing this time. “I… I’m really hoping the age gap between us won’t frighten him.” 

“Don’t sweat it for now, Jen. But you should bring it up tomorrow when you two talk.” 

“Yeah, I will.” 

“Now, come on, you didn't even answer my question—what does Jared look like now? What's he like?”

“Well," Jensen let out a short laugh, "uh, I'm pretty sure Jared's just as tall as me now, if not taller."

Chris let out a whistle, "If he's taller than you, I'm pretty sure Steve and Mike are never gonna let you live that down." 

"Yeah, I know."

 

As Jensen continued talking with Chris, in the back of his mind he couldn’t help but feel the excitement and worry slowly begin to build inside of him.

Yes, Jensen was thrilled that he’d likely get to see Jared again tomorrow. But at the same time, the thought of the talk they’d have to have about them being true mates made his stomach churn with dread. 

All those anxious question from before were still there, buzzing in the back of his mind.

Without a doubt, Jensen knew he wasn’t going to be getting much sleep tonight.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was supposed to be longer, but then I ended up switching POVs halfway through (I seem to be doing this a lot lately, hehe), so I cut the chapter in half as well. So while this chapter is in Jared’s POV, the next one will be from Jensen’s—also, this means the total chapter count is now six. I hope you all like this chapter, please leave a comment if you do! 
> 
> And also, I hope you’re all having a great 2017 so far! ♥

As Jared stared at his reflection in the mirror, he swiftly fixed his uniform and his hair so that his appearance was impeccable. When he was done he gave a smile, yet it seemed awkward, almost forced to his eyes. With a small sigh, Jared thought back to his day yesterday.

Even though he’d miraculously managed to get some sleep last night, Jared felt absolutely exhausted. It didn’t help that ever since he'd woken up, his stomach had been churning uncomfortably, but Jared knew it was likely because he'd been worrying himself to no end about the possibility of seeing his true mate again today. 

Even Chad had been awake to talk to Jared before he’d left their apartment, a rarity seeing as Chad loathed being awake before ten in the morning, especially during the weekend. And while Jared had made himself a small breakfast, Chad had started spewing out his thoughts and suggestions on how Jared should proceed, on what he should do next now that he knew who and where his true mate was. But when Chad suggested going undercover and hunting down Jensen at the Fairmont, Jared had quickly jumped in to inform Chad that was most definitely _not_ a good idea. 

Eventually, Jared had managed to convince Chad that— _yes, I’ll be okay, I’ll figure something out, and no, Chad, you don’t have to go with me, seriously, it’s okay, you can stay here, please._

It still frustrated Jared immensely—how he was terrified of running into Jensen, but how he also yearned to see him again. How every inch of his body seemed to be call out for the alpha even though his mind was flooded with worry. 

Taking a deep, shuddering breath, Jared gave one last glance at his reflection before he turned around and walked out of the bathroom and began to make his way over towards the concierge desk. But when he was nearly halfway there, he was suddenly stopped by Mr. Gonzales, the manager of the hotel. 

“Ah, Jared,” the older man’s face was warm, but Jared couldn’t help but stiffen slightly in worry when the manager called out to him, “may I have a quick word with you?” 

At hearing Mr. Gonzales’ words, Jared felt his stomach fall, his mind already fearing the worst. But even so, Jared forced himself to stand up straight and give a quick reply, “Of course, Mr. Gonzales.” He stood there, anxiously awaiting Mr. Gonzales’ reply. 

A kind smile was on Mr. Gonzales’ face as he spoke, “Jared, please do not worry, what I have to say is of no concern. I merely want to inform you that Mr. Ackles wished for me to extend his thanks to you. I believe you assisted him yesterday?” 

Jared immediately froze at the mention of his true mate, his heart skipping a beat in absolute surprise. “Yes?” 

Mr. Gonzales gave Jared a slightly confused, yet amused look. “Well, as I said, Mr. Ackles wished for me to pass along his thanks to you. He told me you were a very gracious host. Coming from a renowned man of such standing, Jared, this is indeed high praise on your, and the hotel’s, behalf.”

“Oh,” Jared wasn’t sure how to reply for a brief moment, so he gave a tentative smile before finally speaking, “I— I’m glad to hear it.” 

“Oh, and Jared,” there appeared to be a thoughtful expression on Mr. Gonzales’ face, “before I forget, Mr. Ackles also asked if he could speak with you about something important. I informed him that he could and that you’d be working at the concierge desk today as well.” 

It took Jared a few seconds to realize what exactly Mr. Gonzales was saying—that it meant Jensen was very likely going to approach him at some point _today_ —and when he did, Jared could already begin to feel a surge of dread wash over him. 

“Oh, uh—” for a moment, Jared hesitated, unsure if he should ask or not, but then he almost instantly decided to take the risk—he _had_ to know, “Mr. Gonzales, if I may ask, did Mr. Ackles tell you why he wishes to speak with me?”

Mr. Gonzales looked pensive for a moment. “He said it was something about wanting to ask you some questions about the colleges here in California. For his nephew, I believe; Mr. Ackles mentioned he was close to graduating soon.”

The disappointment that suddenly worked its way into Jared’s chest was hard to ignore. “Oh.” He tried to give Mr. Gonzales a small smile in thanks but it felt strained. “Thank you for telling me, Mr. Gonzales. I— I’ll do my best to answer any questions Mr. Ackles might have.” 

“Thank you, Jared,” the man gave him a pleased smile, “I do trust you will make sure that Mr. Ackles’ questions are answered to the best of your ability. Now then, I best be on my way, I’ve much to do. I hope you have a pleasant day, Jared, it was nice to speak with you again.” 

“Likewise, Mr. Gonzales,” Jared quickly replied with a slight bow, “I hope you have a pleasant day as well.” 

When the older man turned and left, Jared let out a sigh. He closed his eyes momentarily to compel his mind from straying back to thoughts of Jensen for now, then he steeled himself for the arduous day Jared was sure he was going end up having at work today. And taking one last deep breath of air, Jared opened his eyes again, stood up straight, and began to make his way towards the concierge desk once more. 

 

• • •

 

But only a few hours later, Jared’s nerves were painfully on edge. 

With each glance he dared to take at the clock on the edge of his computer screen, or at the round clock on the wall behind him, Jared felt more and more like time was somehow slowing down around him. The seconds almost seemed to come to a slow crawl, making the minutes appear to stretch on forever. And no matter how many times Jared glimpsed around the area before him every now and again, he had yet to spot Jensen, leaving Jared fraught and irritated. 

As Jared took yet another glance at the time on the computer screen, his mind still wondering when exactly Jensen might decide to show up, if at all, he was jolted out of his thoughts by an abrupt, unfamiliar voice. 

“Well, hello there,” Jared look up to find a blond, brawny blue-eyed alpha staring at him with a strange glint in his eyes. 

For a split second, Jared mentally berated himself for getting so caught up in his own thoughts that he hadn’t payed attention and noticed the alpha approach the concierge desk. But then he promptly gave the alpha a polite smile and spoke, “Hello, sir, how may I help you today?” 

“My name’s Stephen, and you must be…” the alpha trailed off with a grin as his eyes looked Jared up and down, his gaze pausing momentarily when he spotted Jared’s name tag, “Jared.”

The way the alpha was staring at him unsettled Jared, but he tried to ignore it for now. 

“How may I help you today?” he repeated, hoping the alpha would state his business and leave. But he appeared undeterred. 

“I was just here to check myself out of here,” he pulled out a keycard and placed it on the table, but his hand remained resting on top of it, “but now, seeing as there’s such a pretty omega before my very eyes, well…” The glint was back in the alpha’s eyes and it made Jared want to cower, to run away and hide himself from the alpha’s stare. “I’d very much like to get to know you better, _Jared_.”

“Sir,” Jared averted his gaze to look down at the slightly hidden keycard on the desk, “may I please have your room’s keycard? I’ll need it to officially check you out.” 

“Oh,” the alpha grabbed the keycard and held it up to wave it briefly, “this little thing? Well, here you are.” 

Stephen extended his arm out towards Jared, the keycard between his fingers. Feeling extremely anxious and uncomfortable with the alpha’s behavior, Jared hesitated before he moved his arm to reach for and grab the keycard. But the moment Jared’s fingertips touched the keycard, the alpha had pulled the keycard away. 

Stunned by the action, Jared merely stood there motionlessly for a short moment. But that seemed to be enough for the alpha, because before Jared could pull his arm back to his side, the alpha’s free hand seemed to reach out. And in the blink of an eye, Stephen’s fingers were wrapped tightly around Jared’s wrist. 

A mixture of disgust, fury, and apprehension suddenly surged in Jared’s chest the moment the alpha’s hand touched his skin, and he instantly tried to yank his wrist out of Stephen’s grip, but the alpha’s hold was too strong. 

“You have such soft skin, Jared, and you have such a lovely, alluring scent…” the alpha noted, the words making Jared’s stomach turn. “When will you be free today? Because if you’d like, I can come pick you up and we can go out and eat.”

“Sir…” Jared began, but when he saw that the alpha didn’t appear to have heard him, he tried again, his voice a fraction louder this time, “sir, please let go of my hand so I can check you out.”

“Only if you agree to go on a date with me later today,” Stephen countered with a grin. 

Jared felt his body begin to tremble. “Sir, please let go of me.” 

A brief annoyed looked seemed to cross the alpha’s face before his features smoothed back out and he gave Jared an easy smile, “Only if you’ll go on a date with me. Come on, Jared, don’t you know who I am? I’ll be sure to treat you nice, just like an alpha ought to when courting an omega they wa—” 

Yet before Stephen could finish his sentence, he was interrupted. 

“Excuse me,” a sudden voice behind the blond alpha spoke, and when Jared looked behind him, he felt his heart skip a beat when he saw that it was _Jensen_. But when Jared saw how tight the features of Jensen’s face where, the way his eyes were narrowed dangerously at the back of the blond alpha’s head and how his brows were pulled together so that there was a tiny crinkle between them, apprehension began to well up inside of him. “I believe he kindly asked you to let him go.” 

As soon as Stephen heard the voice, he let go of Jared. Allowing Jared to quickly pull his still trembling arm back to his side.

“Um, who the fuck do you think you—” Stephen’s features twisted in irritation before he turned around to look at the stranger who had dared to interrupt him, but whatever else he was about to was cut off when his gaze finally landed on Jensen’s face and his eyes widened in realization. “Ackles?”

“Ah, of course,” Jensen seemed to grow exasperated once he saw and recognized who the blonde alpha was, “Amell, what a pleasant surprise to see you here.” 

Stephen’s eyes narrowed at Jensen’s dry, sarcastic response. 

“What the fuck are you doing here?” the blonde alpha glowered at Jensen suspiciously.

Jared watched the interaction between the two alphas with trepidation, too apprehensive to think of even trying to jump in and interrupt the two, much less to try and stop them.

“This is a hotel, Amell,” Jensen began with a similar scowl on his face, “last I checked, you don’t own the place, and even if you did, I have every right to be here, seeing as I’m a _guest_.” Stephen had a retort ready to go, but Jensen cut him off before he could give his response. “I think it’s time you left. I’m sure you wouldn’t want the press to know that you were harassing a young omega while they were working. Can you just imagine how disappointed the _Arrow_ fans would be to hear that their beloved protagonist isn’t as much of a good guy as they want to think he is?”

Stephen seemed to flush angrily at that, “Look here, Ackles, if you think threatening me—” 

“Excuse me,” yet this time, the blond alpha was interrupted by a gruff, stern voice that came from behind Jared. Both Jensen and Stephen turned to see a tall, older, but still slightly built alpha standing behind Jared, his dark brown eyes narrowed at both of them. 

“Is everything alright here, Jared?” the man behind Jared asked as he continued to eye the two alphas.

“Jeff…” Jared began weakly as he turned to look at Jeffrey, “oh, uh, it’s…” 

When Jared’s voice trailed off, unsure of how exactly to explain the situation, Jensen immediately jumped in, “Hello there, from what I happened to overhear and see, I believe this man here was just about to leave. I think he wanted to request that someone escort him out to his vehicle.” 

Jeffrey turned to look at Jared, “Is that right?” 

Jared gave a quick look at Stephen, who’s face was now a bold red, before he fixed his eyes on Jensen. The alpha was looking back at Jared, with a small, reassuring smile on his face. Jared felt his chest grow warm as he turned to Jeffrey and gave a quiet, yet steady reply, “Yes, what Mr. Ackles said is correct. Mr. Amell was just about to turn in his keycard so that I could check him out.” 

“Well then,” Jeffrey walked around the desk until he was standing not two feet away from Stephen, he fixed his eyes on the blond alpha with a wide smile on his face, “Mr. Amell, I would be more than happy to escort you to your vehicle. Please hand over your room’s keycard to Jared so that he can check you out and we may leave.”

Stephen’s face remained flushed as he glared at Jensen, Jared, and then at Jeffrey. “Fine,” he slapped the keycard onto the desk, “here’s my keycard.” 

“Thank you, sir,” Jeffrey said with a tight smile, “now please, follow me.” 

With one last glare at Jared and then Jensen, Stephen remained quiet as he both he and Jeffrey began making their way towards the hotel’s joint entrance and exit. 

Now alone together, a heavy silence descended upon Jensen and Jared.

Panic began to bubble in Jared’s chest, but seconds later, he managed to will himself to speak.

“Mr. Ackles,” Jared spoke, his voice wavering slightly as he addressed the alpha, “how may I help you today?” 

“You don’t—” As Jensen paused for a moment, a transient look seemed to appear on his face, one Jared was unable to decipher before it vanished. “I… I was wondering if you’d be okay with us talking after your shift today ends?” 

“Oh,” Jared found feel his heart beating rapidly in his chest, “o-of course. My shift today ends at two o’clock. Where would you like to meet?” 

“Would it be— Would you be okay with us meeting in the lobby here?”

“Of course, that’d be perfectly fine.” 

“Great!” A relieved smile seemed to appear on Jensen’s face, and Jared found he couldn’t look away. “And, uh, just in case, I hope it’s alright for me to I give you this.” Jensen quickly reached into his pocket and pulled out a tiny piece of paper, he then placed it on top of the concierge desk and carefully slid it over to Jared. 

Jared reached up to grab it—it was a tiny, pastel blue sticky note with Jensen’s name on it and a phone number written under it. He moved his head to look at Jensen, who seemed almost bashful now. 

“That, uh… Well, that’s my personal cell phone number. Please feel free to call me, or to send text me if you’d prefer, in case anything happens, or, uh, you know…” as his voice trailed off, he gave Jared a feeble smile.

“Oh,” Jared found himself feeling out of breath then. For a moment he merely stood there, looking back down at the vital piece of paper in his hand. He swallowed, his throat now feeling uncomfortably dry. “Thank you.” 

“You’re welcome.” Jensen paused momentarily, now looking incredibly nervous. “I’ll, uh— I’ll go now, since you’re working right now. And I… Well, uh, I’ll see you later today, okay?” 

Jared found himself nodding, unsure of how to reply in that moment as he could feel his face growing warm once again. 

“Bye, Jared.” 

“Goodbye, Mr. Ack—” Jared suddenly remembered something and immediately corrected himself. “Goodbye…Jensen.” 

After hearing those two words, Jensen gave Jared a small, yet delighted smile before he turned around and left. 

When Jensen was finally out of sight, Jared let out a deep breath of air he hadn’t realized he’d been holding in. For a moment Jared felt dizzy. He could hear his blood thrumming faintly in his ears. His heart was still beating furiously inside his constricted chest. And when Jared looked down at the blue sticky note in his hand, he noticed that his hands were trembling. 

He swallowed and quickly, yet gently tucked the tiny, delicate piece of paper with Jensen’s name and phone number into the front pocket of his trousers. Then he glanced at the computer’s screen to look at the time. It was barely 11:53am. He still had about two hours to go before his shift was over. 

Even though the thought of finally meeting with Jensen terrified him, Jared couldn’t ignore how he was also excited to see the alpha yet again, to finally get a chance to really talk with him without having to worry about his work. But Jared still couldn’t help but wonder, to worry—what exactly would they talk about? 

With a shaky exhale, Jared tried to calm himself. Because, although his mind was racing with anxious thoughts, worried _what-ifs_ , Jared knew he had to focus on his work right now. He gave one last peek at the time on the computer’s screen, and with a polite smile on his face he mentally prepared himself to assist the couple he could now see gradually approaching the concierge desk. 

 

• • •

 

As Jared slowly began making his way towards the lobby, he couldn’t help but reach up and adjust the beanie on his head. It was a nervous habit, one Jared had never really grown out of. 

But with each step he took, Jared felt more and more like he was on the verge of collapsing. His heart was thudding frantically, and there was a heavy ache nestled in Jared’s chest that made him wonder if his lungs were indeed taking in as much air as they possibly could because the closer he got to the lobby, the more lightheaded he began to feel. 

The thought of merely turning around and leaving the hotel to go back to his apartment had crossed his mind several times already, but each time, Jared had immediately pushed the thought away. He wouldn’t deny that he was absolutely terrified and anxious as hell, but even so, Jared mind’s was set—no matter what, he _was_ going to see Jensen again. 

_You can do this,_ Jared thought to himself as he took in another shaky breath of air. _You’re almost there._

Seconds later, when the hotel lobby was finally in his sight, Jared paused for a brief moment to look around for his true mate. And when his eyes at last landed on Jensen’s form—the alpha was sitting down on one of the lone armchairs, looking down at his cellphone—Jared swore his heart tried to jump right out of his chest. 

Feeling too gun-shy to take those last steps to close the distance between them, Jared let himself stand there, to merely gaze at the alpha that he knew was his true mate until his confidence returned, but to Jared’s dismay, not a moment later, almost as if he had sensed Jared’s presence, Jensen looked up and their eyes met. 

While Jared felt his entire body go still, he could feel his face grow warm in embarrassment. 

Yet before Jared could do anything else, Jensen immediately got up from the armchair, stuffed his phone into the pocket of his jacket, and began walking towards Jared with a warm smile on his face. 

Jared quickly dropped his gaze to mindlessly stare at the floor around his shoes, but when he heard Jensen call his name, he couldn’t help but look back up at Jensen as he approached him. 

For a moment, as Jared found himself looking into Jensen’s vibrant green eyes, he felt as if all the air in his lungs has abruptly been knocked out. Jensen’s eyes were dazzling, but when Jared took notice of the lightly dusted freckles across the tops of Jensen’s cheeks, and the way the outer corner of his eyes crinkled beautifully as Jensen smiled, Jared found himself completely mesmerized. 

He’d seen pictures of Jensen online, but now finally seeing Jensen up close, Jared felt as if they did Jensen no justice. His true mate was handsome, beautiful in a way that made Jared’s heart ache. 

“Jared, would you be okay with us going up to my suite so we can talk privately?” Jensen seemed to hesitate then, and Jared was shocked to see that Jensen’s cheeks were now slightly flushed. “I mean, if you’d prefer for us to go and talk somewhere else, that’d be perfectly fine too. I just— I’m only suggesting we meet up in my suite because if we leave the hotel there might be people outside that recognize me, and, well, uh, to be honest, I’m sort of terrified we might run into some paparazzi out there.” 

“Of course,” the words feel from his lips without thought and Jared felt his face grow even warmer, “I mean—yes, we…we can talk in your suite, I— That’d be perfectly fine.”

“Okay,” Jensen let out a small exhale and gave Jared a timid smile, “well, let’s head on over there, yeah?”

Jared merely nodded his head and when Jensen began walking, he made sure to follow. 

The silence that came after and persisted as they made their way up towards Jensen’s suite was incredibly stifling, almost palpable to the point that Jared felt like the air’d become far too thick for him to breathe. But each time he managed to take a tiny side glance at Jensen, the alpha looked exceedingly calm, unaffected, as if he wasn’t on the verge of panicking like Jared was. It was maddening. 

And moments later, when they were finally on the floor of Jensen’s suite walking down the long hallway, Jared felt like his wobbly legs might give out at any moment and send him toppling down onto the floor.

“We’re here,” Jensen said as they both came to a halt before the room to his suite. He inserted the keycard and then pushed the door open. “Please, come in.” 

As Jared walked inside, his heart thudding frantically in his chest as if it were on the verge of giving out from too much strenuous activity at any given second, he took in a deep, shaky breath of air and prayed he wouldn’t completely panic once Jensen also walked in and closed the door behind them—because once that happened, they’d be in Jensen’s suite, completely and absolutely _alone_. 

So when he finally heard a faint click behind him, signaling that the door had finally been closed, Jared couldn’t help but wonder if perhaps he should’ve allowed Chad to come to the hotel with him after all.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m pretty sure the 8.3k for this chapter nearly killed me, lol. ;v;;; I’ll also be adding yet another chapter to this fic before we get to the epilogue (the very last chapter), so the fic’s total chapter count is now at seven! (I gotta stop adding more and more chapters… orz) Anyways, I hope you all like this chapter, please leave me a comment if you do! Your comments are what motivate me to continue writing. ♥

As the door closed behind him, Jensen wondered if Jared could tell he was on the verge of panicking, if his true mate could somehow hear the hasty beatings of his heart. Because all Jensen could hear was the loud rushing of blood in his ears. 

“Please make yourself comfortable,” Jensen spoke as his hand moved to adjust the collar of his shirt. “I… I’m just gonna get myself some water from my room and then I’ll be right back. Would you, uh— Would you like anything?” 

“Oh, no, I’m alright, thank you,” Jared replied quietly as he took a seat on one of the two armchairs that stood opposite each other around the short-legged table in the center of the parlor area.

“Okay,” Jensen swallowed, “I’ll be back in a second.” 

Though his heart was racing and his mind was ordering him to make a run for it, Jensen took in a shaky breath of air before he forced his legs to leisurely walk him to his room. Jensen didn’t bother closing the door behind him, knowing Jared couldn’t see him. But when Jensen rushed into the spacious bathroom, he quietly closed the door but left a small gap. 

“Fuck…” the word tumbled from Jensen’s lips in a weak, breathy exhale. 

Jensen let his legs walk him closer to the toilet until he closed the lid and sat down for a moment. He raked trembling fingers through his hair and took in another breath of air. 

Now that Jensen was alone and away from Jared’s view, he let his facade crumble. He’d been trying his best to not appear nervous around Jared, especially since Jared himself looked rather nervous already and Jensen didn’t want to further worry Jared, but Jensen was a mess of nerves. Even though Jared was much younger than him, Jensen couldn’t help but feel incredibly anxious around the omega. Jared was his true mate, his omega, and Jensen wanted to blame that fact that he was an alpha for feeling like he had to act like he was fine when he was really a nervous mess, but Jensen knew it’d be a lie. 

It was rare for Jensen to honestly strive to make a good impression on someone, yet here he was, trying his best to keep his cool around Jared just so he wouldn’t make a fool of himself before the younger omega. 

He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. His hands trembled as he unlocked the phone and sent a quick text to Chris.

> Jared’s HERE, in the suite I booked for my break. I’m trying not to panic rn but I feel like I might pass out at any given moment. Please send help asap if you don’t hear back from me in about an hour or so.

Luckily, Jensen didn’t have to wait very long because not even a minute later he got a reply.

> Jensen, you’ll be fine. I’ll call you after practice today, so you better answer when I do! Because I, and all the guys too, will want to hear everything! Good luck!

As Jensen stood up, he pocketed his phone and then walked up the long sink to look at himself in the mirror.

“You can do this, Jensen,” he said to his reflection, “you can fuckin’ do this. Now, get your ass back out there and talk to him like the confident, suave alpha everyone thinks you are.”

Yet the man staring back at Jensen seemed to differ with Jensen’s statement. 

“Oh, fuck,” Jensen let out another shuddering breath as he shook his head and then proceeded to make his way back to where Jared was still waiting before his worry kept him holed away in the bathroom any longer and Jared might start to wonder why he was talking so long. 

 

  
As Jensen walked back into the parlor area, he felt his stomach give a fluttering lurch when he spotted Jared, the omega glanced up from staring at his hands to look at him. He gave the omega a tiny smile, “Thank you for waiting, Jared. I’m sorry I took so long, I guess I was more thirsty than I thought.” 

But as soon as the last words were out of his mouth, Jensen wished he could slap himself for saying something embarrassingly ridiculous, knowing it was a lie. 

“It’s okay,” Jared replied with a tiny smile as well.

Jensen sat down on the other armchair and an awkward silence seemed to engulf the room they were in. 

“Jared,” Jensen began carefully after a moment of deliberation, “before we start discussing anything, I’d really like to apologize to you in regards to my behavior earlier today.” 

When Jared only gave him a puzzled stare, Jensen gently cleared his throat. “You know, uh— For my behavior earlier today at the concierge desk, with Amell. Originally, I was planning on just heading down there to ask you if we could talk after your work ended today, but then when I noticed Amell and saw that he was… _grabbing_ your wrist… I just— I couldn’t stop myself from intervening. But I’m very sorry if I put you on the spot and made you feel uncomfortable by doing that.” 

“Jensen, no, please, it’s alright—you don’t have to apologize.” Jared averted his gaze to stare down at his hands. “Honestly, I was feeling pretty uncomfortable with what he was doing, but I wasn’t sure how to make him stop. Since I was still working and he was technically a guest here, as much as I wanted to, I knew I couldn’t just ask him to leave me the hell alone. I tried to ignore him, but when he grabbed me and wouldn’t let go, I was terrified. I panicked. So, honestly, I really appreciate that you jumped in to help—thank you.” 

When Jared finally glanced up to flash a thankful smile at him, Jensen felt his heart skip a beat.

“Oh, uh,” Jensen felt breathless, he averted his gaze slightly, “you…you’re welcome then.” 

A thick, awkward silence followed once more before Jensen breathed in, sent a silent prayer to all the deities he could think of for help, and dared to speak again. 

“Jared, what I’d really— What I’d like to talk about…well… We should— No, we have—” the words seemed to tumble from his lips in a nervous rush, and Jensen could feel his cheeks heat up. He stopped himself to take another breath of air before he finished weakly, “We’re true mates.” 

At seeing the look of surprise that appeared on Jared’s face, Jensen felt his heart thud uncomfortably in his chest in dread, yet before he could try and explain, Jared spoke, his voice quiet but steady, “I know.” 

The two words stunned Jensen, and it must have shown, because Jared immediately added, “I, uh— I realized it yesterday when you checked in.”

“Oh,” Jensen said lamely, still too surprised to think of anything else to say. 

“I thought about saying something,” Jared added as he looked away, but not before Jensen caught the way his features twisted in guilt, “but I was working, and—honestly? I was too surprised and nervous to see you again that I sort of didn’t really think to mention it.”

Despite all Jared said, Jensen found himself focusing on the words _nervous to see you again_. 

“Wait—” he paused to gather his thoughts, “you said you were nervous to see me _again_? Do you remember—” and suddenly, a deep worry buried itself in Jensen’s chest, and for a moment he found he was terrified of finishing his sentence, of hearing Jared’s reply, but he still had to know. “Do you… _remember_ me? We, uh— We meet a few years back on—”

“Christmas Eve,” Jared finished for him with a nervous smile, “back in San Antonio, about six years ago, right?” 

“Yeah,” Jensen replied breathlessly. “So, you— You _do_ remember me from…back then?” 

Jared’s smile turned soft, almost bashful. “Of course.”

“Oh.” Jensen found he wasn’t sure what else to say for a few moment. “It’s just… You looked pretty young when we first met. Honestly, I wasn’t sure you’d remember me after all these years.”

“What about— I mean… Did _you_ remember me?” Jared’s features twisted in uncertainty, and Jensen wished more than nothing to do anything to make him smile again, to erase all traces of doubt from his face. “When you saw me yesterday, I mean.” 

“Of course,” was Jensen’s immediate, unwavering reply. “To be very honest with you, I, uh…I never stopped thinking about you.” When he saw Jared’s shocked expression, Jensen continued, “I feel guilty saying this, but I did try to forget for a time back then. I mean, I knew we were true mates the instant I grabbed your hand to help you up. But you looked so young, and I thought you were a beta. I just…” The alpha let out a shuddering breath of air before he continued, “Back then, I was struggling with some things, and I guess that after that, I just had too many worries and doubts about everything, including us being true mates. So Jared, I’m so sorry I didn’t look for you.” 

“Jensen, it’s okay. Please, you don’t have to apologize. Honestly, I didn’t even know for sure that we were true mates until yesterday. Though, honestly, I did suspect there was something… _unusual_ about our first meeting, because a few days after we met, I went into heat and presented as an omega. And no matter how much I tried to forget you as well, because I thought I’d likely never see you again, I just…I never really could.” 

The words took Jensen by surprise. “So you really weren’t an omega when we met? I mean—you hadn’t presented yet?”

“Yeah,” Jared looked sheepish as he replied, “everyone in my family, including me, thought I was gonna be a beta, since nearly everyone in our family’s one, but the day after Christmas I suddenly woke up feeling inexplicably warm, and, well…soon enough my family and I discovered I actually hadn’t caught a cold. Me presenting as an omega really took everyone by surprise. I guess that’s why I didn’t really make the connection that we were true mates until yesterday, since I hadn’t even presented back then. But now that I’m an omega, well…yesterday I instantly knew we were really true mates. I felt the pull, like before, but it was much stronger this time, and everything just seemed to click—without a doubt I could just... _feel_ it, and I just _knew_.” 

As Jensen considered Jared’s words, thinking of what he could possibly say in response, Jared cleared his throat gently, his voice trembling slightly as he spoke again, “Jensen, I— I hope it’s okay for me to ask, but…what do you want to do about this?” 

The apprehension clearly written on Jared’s face made Jensen’s heart ache. For a moment Jensen wondered what Jared might be thinking—was the omega awaiting the worst? 

“Jared, even though we are true mates, I know we don’t really know each other at this time, so I was hoping…” the alpha swallowed and mentally prayed to all the deities he knew before he finished his question, “would you allow me to court you?” 

When Jared said nothing, a look of obvious surprise merely appearing on the omega’s face, Jensen continued, “I mean, it doesn’t have to be traditional courting, just…I guess, more like us going on dates and getting to know one another before we…before we decide anything else. Does that sound okay with you?” 

Jensen could feel his heart racing in his chest as he awaited Jared’s reply. 

“I— Yes,” Jared said after a few seconds as he gave Jensen a bashful smile, “yes, it— That sounds great. I— I’d like that.”

Jensen released a breath of air he didn’t know he’d been holding in, his own lips pulling into a smile as well. “That’s— I’m glad to hear it.”

But the relief and joy was short lived as a sudden thought popped into Jensen’s mind and when realization hit him immediately after, he let out a sharp exhale and his brows pulled together as his features twisted in frustration and dread. 

“Jensen…?”

Hearing Jared’s quiet, hesitant voice pulled Jensen from his thoughts, his features instantly smoothing out as he looked back at Jared with an apologetic look. “I’m sorry, Jared. I just… I don’t know how I could’ve forgotten something like this, but it occurred to me that me wanting to court you will likely pose some very possible problems, given my status as a…celebrity.”

It took a few seconds before realization seemed to dawn on Jared as well. Then, immediately after, Jared turned his head as he averted his gaze, but not before Jensen caught the obvious look of disappointment and dismay on his face. “Oh, yeah…you’re right.” 

Jensen felt the need to add, “Jared, please don’t misunderstand. No matter what, I do want to court you. I just… I’m worried.” At that, Jared turned to look back at him. Jensen took a deep breath and continued. “Since I’m an actor, a lot of people know who I am. I deal with paparazzi a lot, even when I’m just going out to get something to eat,” his gaze traveled down to stare mindlessly at his hands, “it feels like every moment of my life is watched, scrutinized—so it’s difficult for things to remain private in my life when it seems like everyone wants to know everything about me all the time. I mean, I do appreciate my fans so much, but I gotta be honest, some days, the fame that comes along with being an actor can get pretty…exhausting. When we start courting… Jared, I’m going to try my very best, but I’m afraid that, eventually, by just being with me, you’ll be forced into the spotlight too.” 

“Jensen, I know.” Jensen looked at Jared then, the omega seemed to want to say more, but he held himself back. “I know that, eventually, it is going to come out that we’re courting. I know that it’s very likely that everyone is going to know about me, about who I am and what I’m doing, what I’ve done, what I might plan to do. It’s...unavoidable.” Jared paused and let out a small, shaky exhale, “Honestly...I’m terrified. I’d be lying if I said otherwise. I… I’m just a college student. I’m a guy who’s afraid of public speaking and has a hard time talking to strangers. I even avoid going to parties because I hate loud crowds. So being in the spotlight? That’s something I never wanted.” 

Jensen felt his chest constrict in trepidation and resignation, but then Jared continued, “But Jensen, you…you’re my true mate. I know we’ve only just met, but you’ve been in my thoughts since that Christmas Eve six years ago, and as silly as it might sound, I’d willingly go through all that for you—to be with you.” 

The faint blush that appeared on Jared’s face as he said those last words make Jensen’s heart give a treacherous lurch as his chest swelled with hope and joy. “Jared, are you sure? Things are going to become very difficult for us, especially for you. As much as it saddens me to realize, I… I know it won't be an easy road for us.”

Jared remained quiet for a moment, seemingly to think things over before he gave Jensen a bashful reply, “Yes, I’m sure. I… I’m still going to be worried about everything, and I’m pretty sure the fear I feel’s going to stick with me, but...as long as you’re by my side, I think I can do it.”

“Of course!” Jensen immediately replied. “Jared, no matter what happens, I swear to you, I’ll do my damned best to be there with you every step of the way.” 

Though Jared gave no verbal reply, Jensen marveled at how Jared’s cheeks flushed a bright pink before the omega looked away. A strange quietness filled the room then, and while not unpleasant, Jensen couldn’t ignore how he yearned to hear Jared’s voice, to hear the omega talk and smile and laugh some more. 

“Jared?” Jensen spoke quietly moments later. When Jared turned and met his gaze, Jensen gave the omega a gentle smile. “Seeing as this is the first time we’ve gotten a real chance to talk to one another, is there anything you’d like to ask me? Anything you’d like to know?” 

It took a few seconds for Jared’s features to twist in realization and embarrassment. “Oh! Well, I don’t know much about you, just the basic stuff I…uh…happened to discover when I…” Jared’s voice fell to a murmur and the lingering blush on the omega’s cheeks seemed to deepen, “looked you up online yesterday.” 

Jensen was thankful he’d still heard Jared’s words; he couldn’t fight the pleased smile that worked its way onto his face.

“How about I tell a bit about me, and if there’s anything else you’d like to know about me, you can just ask?” Jensen suggested.

“That sounds good.” 

“Great,” Jensen gave a smile. “Well, to start with, even though you probably already know this by now, my full name’s Jensen Ross Ackles. I was born in Dallas on March 1. I was planning on going to Texas Tech after I graduated from high school, but I ended up going to Los Angeles to become an actor instead. Thankfully, I got my first acting job not too long after. Since then, I’ve acted in several movies and TV shows. Currently, I’m mainly just working on _Supernatural_ —though right now, we’re taking a break, that’s why I’m staying here at this hotel.” Jensen paused for a moment, a pensive expression on his face. “And well, I guess that’s the general stuff most people can read online about me—something most people don’t know about me is that I play the guitar, and I also like to sing.”

At Jensen’s last few admissions, Jared’s face lit up with surprise, “I play the guitar too! I mean, I’m honestly not that good at it at the moment, since I just started learning this past summer and I,” Jared abruptly averted his gaze slightly then, looking rather sheepish, “uh, haven’t been practicing consistently for quite some time now.”

“I’m sure that if you start practicing again, even if just once every few days, you’ll slowly get better at it.” Jensen gave Jared a gentle smile. “I started playing before I graduated from high school, so I’ve been playing for well over a decade now. That's given me plenty of time to become a decent guitarist by now, I think.”

“Wow, that’s pretty amazing!” The apparent admiration on Jared’s face made Jensen’s heart quiver. “And you said you sing, too?” 

“Yeah,” a wave of nervousness washed over Jensen then, and he moved his hand to mindlessly tug at the collar of his shirt, “I— I do like to sing, but I’m not that good at it. I, uh— To be honest, just the thought of singing or performing before any large crowd makes me feel rather…nervous. So, when I say I like to sing, I actually mean I like to sing when I’m in the shower, or when I’m alone and know that no one is looking at me.” 

“I’m willing to bet you have a great voice,” Jared grinned, “but either way...I won’t know for sure unless I actually hear you sing in person.” 

When Jensen spotted the playful smile tugging at Jared’s lips, he felt his face burn up. He immediately averted his gaze and swallowed before speaking, “What, uh— I think that’s enough talk about me for now. What about you? What do you feel comfortable telling me about yourself?” 

Jared’s smile widening into a grin. “Well, my full name’s Jared Tristan Padalecki. I was actually born in San Antonio on July 19, and I’ve lived there all my life. Well, until I graduated from high school and decided to attend UCLA, that is. And if all goes okay, I’m hoping to get my Bachelor’s next year in May.” 

“What are you hoping to get your degree in?” Jensen asked, truly interested in knowing. 

“I’m hoping to get my degree in Mathematics for Teaching, since I eventually plan on becoming a high school math teacher.” 

Pride swelled in Jensen’s chest once more, “Wow, that’s pretty amazing, Jared. I’m sure you’ll be a great math teacher one day.” 

“Thank you,” Jared said quietly as his cheeks tinged with pink. 

“Do you live on campus?” Jensen finally dared to ask. “Or do have a place of your own?” 

“Oh, uh—no, I don’t live on campus, I actually live with a close friend of mine, his name is Chad. We’re renting an apartment close to campus together.” 

“Do you have another job besides the one you have here?” 

“I do, actually, I work part-time as a tutor and help kids in middle and high school that are struggling with their math classes.” 

Yet before Jensen could voice yet another compliment, he heard Jared mutter under his breath, “Speak of the devil…”

“What is it?” 

Jared let out an embarrassed laugh, “It’s— You know my friend Chad, the one I said I rented an apartment with? Well, I told him we were going to meet, so he wouldn’t expect me to get back to our place right after I got out of work, but…” Jared raised his hand and absently scratched the back of his neck, “he won’t stop texting me. I left my phone on vibrate, and my pocket’s been vibrating nonstop for quite a while now. It’s…rather distracting.” 

When Jared gave Jensen a apologetic smile, Jensen found himself grinning at the omega. “Jared, it’s perfectly okay. If you want to check your phone and get back to him, please feel free to do so. I won’t mind at all.” 

“Oh, thank you. Then, uh,” Jared quickly reached into his pant pocket and pulled out his cell phone, but then he gave one last glance at Jensen, “please excuse me for a moment so I can just send him a quick text.” 

When Jared saw Jensen nod in assent, the omega looked down and unlocked his phone and went to read the text messages his friend sent him. But moments later, Jensen was surprised to see Jared’s face go a bright red. Yet before Jensen could ask if Jared was okay, Jared’s fingers were moving, typing out a quick reply, and then he merely stuffed his phone back into his pocket. 

“Jensen… Would— Could we possibly meet again later? Maybe tomorrow? I think I need to go back home soon.” Jared’s right hand moved up to pinch the bridge of his nose, “Chad, my roommate, hasn’t eaten anything yet, and, honestly, he can’t cook to save his life, so he’s sorta dependent on either buying takeout or me making something for us to eat. He says he’s about to start eating his own arm because I’m taking too long.” Jared gave a snort. “Now I’m tempted to just stay here and see how he’s faring tomorrow morning.” 

“Wow,” Jensen chuckled, “your friend sounds like he’s…something.” Jared rolled his eyes, but Jensen could still spot a faint smile on the omega’s face. “Jared, if you’d like to leave so you can make sure your friend doesn’t become a cannibal by the end of the day,” a grin appeared on Jared’s face and Jensen felt his chest swell with pride, “you can. I’d be more than happy for us to meet up tomorrow again. I’ll be free pretty much the entire day, so we can meet up at any time you'd like. Though, if it’s alright, I’d like to ask if we can meet here again?” 

“Oh!” Jared nodded eagerly. “Of course, that’d be perfectly fine! I’ll be free most of tomorrow too. Would it be alright for me to come here around lunch-time, about one thirty or so?”

“That’d be perfect,” Jensen answered with a pleased smile. “Would it be alright for me to buy us some lunch to eat here?” 

The question appeared to take Jared aback briefly, “Oh, uh…Jensen, you don’t have to, I can eat something before I come over.”

“Jared,” Jensen looked earnestly at Jared as he spoke, “if you’d allow me, I’d very much like to buy us something to eat, so we can have lunch together. I truly do wish to court you, but given my status, I know I can’t do so openly at this time. I wish I could take you out to eat at a restaurant, but I can’t at this time. So, for now, would you allow me to do this instead?” 

As Jared took in and considered Jensen’s words, a heavy silent fell upon the room. Worry suddenly began to swell in Jensen’s chest, but, thankfully, before his mind could run away with his anxious thoughts, Jared fixed his gaze on Jensen and answered, “Yes. I— That sounds great.” 

Jensen took a deep breath of relief, but then Jared’s next words made his heart come to a short halt. 

“But, uh— If I may ask, then, uh, does that mean that tomorrow’s sort of going to be a… _date_?” 

“I—” Jensen swallowed, his face and neck suddenly feeling incredibly warm. “Yes?” 

Jensen found himself staring dazedly at Jared’s face as the omega broke out into a radiant grin. It was undeniable now, Jensen loved the way the omega’s cheeks reddened when he was embarrassed, the way those hazel eyes seemed to shimmer when he smiled, the way his cheeks would dimple when he grinned. 

Jared was beautiful. Earth-shatteringly beautiful. Beautiful in a way that left Jensen feeling breathless, that left his heart racing, that made his body tremble in wonder and anticipation. Because Jensen knew this radiant omega was his true mate. Just as he ultimately belonged wholly to Jared, Jared as also _his_.

Jensen wanted nothing more than to stand up, walk over, and kiss the omega’s rosy lips, to take Jared’s breath away just as he easily stole Jensen’s. To hear Jared whisper his name as he kissed his flushed cheeks. To— 

“That’s great!” 

The excited words from Jared tore Jensen from his thoughts, and, feeling completely embarrassed to have let himself think of such things when they were just only now agreeing to go on their very first date, Jensen felt his entire face and neck grow painfully warm. 

“Are there, uh—” Jensen’s voice came out rather hoarse, so he nervously cleared his throat and tried to speak again, “For the food, is there anything you might be allergic to, or just any types of foods I should avoid getting?” 

When Jared looked away in thought, Jensen found himself letting out a shaky exhale. “Well, I’m not really allergic to any foods, so anything’s fine. Though, uh, if it’s alright for me to say, I do sorta have a preference for Mexican or Italian food.” 

Jensen eyes Jared curiously, “Really? I do too.”

“Perhaps it’s because we’re both from Texas?” Jared suggested with a grin. 

“Maybe.” Jensen couldn’t help but smile too. “Thank you for telling me, Jared. I really do want us to enjoy our meal together tomorrow, so knowing what you like to eat helps. And I won’t deny that knowing something more about you also makes me happy.” 

“Oh, well,” as Jared blushed, his right hand reach dup to nervously tug at the beanie he was wearing, “I, uh— I’m happy to know you like the same food as me.” 

Jensen could only continue smiling at the omega, his chest feeling pleasantly warm. 

“Oh! I nearly forgot,” realization dawned on Jared’, he abruptly sat up straight and looked directly at Jensen, “Mr. Gonzales, the manager of this hotel, told me you wanted to talk about colleges here in California. What exactly would you like to know?”

“What?” Jensen looked at Jared as if he’d suddenly started speaking in a language he couldn’t understand. 

Jared furrowed his brows. “For your nephew? Mr. Gonzales mentioned that you said he was going to graduate soon and that he was thinking of going to a college here?” 

“Oh,” Jensen flushed, his face going painfully warm, as he suddenly recalled the lie he’d told the manager yesterday so he could have an excuse to approach Jared today, “uh, so… Jared, I’m so sorry. I… I might’ve lied to him so he would tell me when you were working. I mean, I do have a nephew, but honestly? The kid’s barely in middle school, so…he’s not going to be looking at prospective colleges any time soon.” 

But when a light laugh reached his ears, Jensen held his breath. 

Jared was _laughing_. 

_He_ had made Jared laugh.

The radiant sight made Jensen’s heart clench in yearning—all Jensen wanted to do was to walk right up to Jared and wrap his arms around him and kiss his lips. 

Instantly, Jensen knew he wanted to make Jared laugh more in the future.

“Ah, I see,” Jared stopped laughing a few seconds later, but he was still grinning, and Jensen found himself staring at the two dimples on his cheeks, “I must admit, it was a good excuse, but, if I may ask, how’d you know I’m going to college here in the first place?” 

“Oh, uh,” Jensen gulped, his throat suddenly feeling incredibly dry, and quickly averted his gaze as he answered, “well, Mr. Gonzales paid me a visit yesterday, and I…might’ve mentioned how I wanted to thank you for being a good host, and he might’ve mentioned that, uh, you’re a student here at UCLA.”

When there came no immediate response, Jensen mumbled out a faint, “I’m sorry.”

“Jensen,” at hearing Jared’s gentle voice, Jensen finally looked back up to see Jared smiling at him, “Jensen, really, it’s okay. I’m pretty sure if you hadn’t done something to make us meet up again, I probably would’ve eventually approached Mr. Gonzales, or Jeffrey, for help on contacting you.” 

“Really?”

“Well, maybe not Mr. Gonzales, because even though he’s a beta, he’s still my boss, and I’m honestly slightly terrified of him,” Jared gave a short laugh, “so I’d’ve probably asked Jeff for help. But yes, once I realized that we were true mates, I knew I had to find a way for us to talk. And I’m pretty sure Chad would’ve forced me to do something before it was too late, that or he would’ve just come right over here to hunt you down.” 

“Oh,” Jensen was lost in thought for a moment before he suddenly shook his head and smiled, “I have a friend just like that, his name’s Chris. I… I told him about you—about everything since we first met. He was the first person I called after our meeting yesterday. And, uh, he sorta threatened to come here too, so he could find a way to force the universe and make us meet up again to talk.” 

“Oh God,” Jared let out a brief groan of disbelief before he burst out laughing, “Jensen, are you talking about _Christian Kane_? As in the lead singer for _Penumbra_? You’re best friends with him?”

“Yes…” Jensen replied hesitantly, suddenly feeling rather confused, “why?” 

Jared seemed to mumble something under his breath before he shook his head slightly. “Well, Chad loves _Penumbra_ , they’re one of his favorite rock bands, and he’s got the biggest crush on Tom Welling.” 

“Oh,” Jensen felt his lips twist upwards in amusement, “is that so?”

“Yes,” Jared let out another laugh, “oh man, Chad was just telling me yesterday how he’d love to meet you because he’s a huge fan of _Supernatural_ , and that hopefully, in the future, he’d get to meet some of your friends too, but especially Tom.” 

“Well…” Jensen gave Jared a serious, thoughtful look, “Tom’s been single for so long now. Even Mike’s stopped trying to set him up with someone, and they’re best friends, so…who knows, maybe this Chad and Tom might hit it off.”

“Oh no,” a terrified look suddenly appeared on Jared’s face, “please don’t say that. He’ll never leave your friends alone if he gets to know them.” 

Jensen couldn’t fight back a laugh at the expression on Jared’s face. “Jared, it’s perfectly okay. If you’d allow me, I’d like to get to know your friends too. And trust me, my own friends are already dying to get to know you.” 

“Oh man,” Jared let out a nervous chuckle, “are you saying the members of _Penumbra_ already know who I am? And that they also want to meet me? I… If Chad finds out, he’s going to be so upset.” 

A fond smile tugged at Jensen’s lips. “Don’t worry, Jared, I’m pretty sure my friends would also like to meet Chad eventually, and any of your other friends as well. Honestly, they’ll be ecstatic to know your friend’s a fan of their music.” 

Jared shook his head, but Jensen noted how the corners of his lips were pulled up in a smile. “If I tell Chad that, I’m pretty sure he’s going to lose it.” He paused for a few seconds before he glanced back at Jensen, unexpectedly looking so crestfallen that Jensen wanted nothing more than to close the space between them and pull Jared into his arms and do whatever possible to make Jared smile again. “To be honest, Jensen, I… I really don’t want to leave right now, but I, uh…” his cheeks reddened, “I’m kinda hungry too, and, uh, I might also have to work on some of my class assignments that are due later this week.” 

“Jared…” Jensen felt a strange warmth flood his chest, “as much as I’d also love for you to stay as well, please, if you’re hungry and need to do some work for your classes, I don’t want to keep you. We still have our, uh…” Jensen felt himself blush as he said his next words, “date tomorrow afternoon, so you should go back home now, and, uh, maybe tomorrow we can just spend some more time together? If you’re not too busy, that is. We can even watch some movies here, if you’d like. I’ll watch pretty much anything.” 

“Yes,” Jared quickly nodded his head, his face still slightly flushed from before, “I— Okay, I’ll— That sounds great!” 

“Alright,” Jensen smiled, “then let me get the door for you.” When Jensen stood up and began walking towards the entrance, Jared instantly got up to follow him.

“Jensen, wait…” Jensen stopped right as his hand gripped the doorknob and turned back to face Jared. Though Jared’s head was tilted down, his gaze fixed on the ground, through the omega’s thin fringe, Jensen could see how the omega’s brows were furrowed, how Jared nibbled on his lower lip. It was obvious, Jared was uneasy about something, and the numerous possibilities as as to _why_ Jared was suddenly so nervous made Jensen’s own stomach flip in apprehension. 

Jensen held his breath for a moment before letting out a shaky breath of air. “Yes…?” 

“I…” Jared paused to swallow and a stifling silence engulfed the room that left Jensen feeling like everything was slowly going to start and unravel. He could faintly hear the rapid beating of his heart, could feel the way his own body was betraying him as anxiety took hold of him. 

So focused was Jensen on his own unease, that he almost didn’t hear Jared’s next words. 

“May I kiss you?” 

Everything instantly came to a jarring halt. 

“I…” The faint word fell from Jensen’s lips automatically, before he could even string together the meaning of the four words, before he could even process the implication of the question asked. He stopped and let the words sink into his mind. Once the significance of the words came to him, Jensen felt a painful blush crawl its way from his upper back all the way up to the tips of his ears. When Jensen found his voice again, he gave a soft, breathy reply, “Yes, of course.” 

Jensen felt his entire body go still as Jared finally looked up at him. Jared’s face was flushed, his eyes glimmering, and Jensen swore the colors in his eyes seemed to almost oscillate between various shades of brown and green. Jensen knew he could spend hours looking into Jared’s eyes—they were mesmerizing. 

Then, in the blink of an eye, Jensen realized that Jared’s face was suddenly very close, likely only a few inches apart. He took in a deep breath of air and prayed his frantically beating heart wouldn’t give out on his before he got to kiss Jared. 

When Jared closed his eyes and Jensen felt the omega’s nose gently bump into his own, Jensen tilted his head up and slightly to the side and closed his eyes as soon as Jared’s lips touched his own. The kiss was chaste—just the short, but gentle meeting of their lips, lasting no more than three seconds long, but even so, during those three seconds, Jensen felt as if he had died and gone to heaven. 

For the second their lips had touched, Jensen had felt like he’d been struck by lightning—as if a surge of electricity had run down his neck to each of his limbs. He’d felt the way his skin prickled immediately afterwards, how the hairs on the back of his neck were now standing on end, how his own heart had seemingly come to a standstill inside his chest for the longest moment. How when Jared pulled himself back, Jensen could faintly hear his labored breathing over Jared’s. 

“That…” Jared was flushed and breathless. “I didn’t think… Was it supposed to feel… _that_ …intense?” When Jensen didn’t say anything immediately after, Jared added, “I… I think I might be a little light-headed now.” 

Though Jensen felt rather dizzy himself, he couldn’t help but laugh. “I feel the same. Honestly, as embarrassing as it’d be, I wouldn’t be that surprised if I suddenly passed out right now.”

Jared let out a quiet chuckle, and when Jensen noticed the soft, loving expression on Jared’s face as he gazed at Jensen, the alpha’s heart beat immediately began to quicken. 

“Oh, uh—let me just…” Jensen averted his gaze slightly as he opened the door and moved back so he wasn’t blocking the entrance. “I, uh… Jared, I just want to thank you for coming over so we could talk. It— I, uh— I’m happy that, after all these years, we got to meet again.” 

“Me too,” Jared smiled and Jensen felt his heart clench, “I… I kept hoping that one day we’d run into each other again, so the fact that we’re both here right now, it’s like a dream come true.”

Jensen floundered, unexpectedly not knowing what to say. 

“Jensen…” something about the way Jared said his name made Jensen feel slightly faint again, “I just… Out of everyone on this planet, out of all the millions and millions of people…I’m happy that you’re my true mate.” 

And it was like the ground gave away from right under him, like he was free falling and the world around him was spinning madly out of control. 

“I…” Jensen felt his throat close up, he swallowed and gently cleared his throat before he dared to speak again. “I’m glad you’re my true mate, too, Jared. And, I know it too soon for me to say, but…one day, if you’d allow me, if you’d have me…I’d love to be your bondmate, your alpha.” 

“I… I’d love that too,” was Jared’s quiet, shy reply, “I…I want to be your omega, I… I want to yours.” 

When Jensen remained speechless, Jared quickly continued with a timorous smile, “I should really go now, my phone hasn’t stopped vibrating in my pocket. I’m pretty sure Chad’s growing desperate at this point.”

“Okay,” though Jensen’s heart had yet to calm down and he felt somewhat breathless, he gave Jared a tender smile, “I just… Please have a safe trip back to your place, Jared. And, if you ever need anything, or if you’d like to talk some more, you already have my number, so please feel free to send me a text, or to call me, at any time, okay?” 

Jared nodded his head and returned Jensen’s smile. “Thank you, Jensen. I, uh… I guess I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon then?”

“Yes,” Jensen’s smile widened into a pleased grin, “for our first date.” 

At the last word, Jared blushed. “I— Oh, uh, yeah. Our date. I’ll— I’ll be here.” The omega finally walked forwards until he was standing outside in the hallway, “So, uh— I’ll go now. Um…”

“Have a good day, Jared.” 

“You too, Jensen. Goodbye!” And just like that, giving one last smile at Jensen, Jared turned around and left. 

Once Jared was gone and Jensen couldn’t see the omega anymore, the alpha closed the door and walked back over to the chair he’d been sitting on before. Without even thinking, Jensen pulled out his phone, unlocked it, and quickly dialed Chris’ number. 

The line rang three times before Chris finally answered, “Hey, Jen, glad to hear you’re still alive over there. Guess there was no need to worry about having to call for backup or something, right?” 

“Jared kissed me before he left,” Jensen blurted out. 

The line went absolutely silent for a few moments before Chris finally let out a low whistle, “Damn. Maybe I spoke too soon.” 

“Chris, Jared _kissed_ me,” Jensen repeated, his voice laced with disbelief and wonder, “he kissed _me_. He actually asked if he could kiss me before he left, and when I said he could, he actually did. I don’t— Chris, I feel like I’m dreaming right now.” 

“Oh yeah, I definitely spoke way too soon,” Chris murmured before he gave a faint sigh. “Jen, you stay where you are and take it easy before you start getting light-headed and pass out. I’ll get the guys so we can head on over to your suite in a bit, okay?” 

“Jared said I can court him,” Jensen added, as if he hadn’t heard his friend’s response, “and, Chris, our first date is going to be tomorrow! He’s going to come over again and I’m going to buy us something to eat for lunch. This day isn’t even over yet and I’m already starting to panic about tomorrow…fuck.” 

“Jen, take a deep breath and try to calm down,” Chris couldn’t help but let out a huff of air that sounded very much like a brief chuckle to Jensen’s ears, “we’ll be over there stat to talk about everything, and trust me, the guys are gonna want details, so you better be prepared for a full-blown interrogation. God knows you’re gonna need all the help you can get when everyone finds out you’re already going to have your first date with Jared tomorrow, especially Mike—damn, he’s not gonna leave you alone once he knows.”

Realization struck Jensen then, momentarily snapping him out of his panic. “Shit…you’re right. Uh— Is there any possible way for you guys to, uh, not come over?”

At that, Chris let out a laugh, “Jensen, everyone’s already prepared to head on over to the hotel. There’s no way you’re getting out of this. Also, since we’ve yet to eat, would it be alright if we brought some takeout with us to your suite? I’m fuckin’ starving.”

“Fine,” Jensen let out a sigh, “I guess I better start mentally preparing myself for the inevitable interrogation I’m going to be subjected to.” 

“Eh, you’ll be fine—we’ll do our best to take it easy on you,” Chris chuckled. “I’ll send you a text when once we get to the hotel, alright?” 

“Alright.”

“Good. I’ll see ya later then, Jen.”

“Bye, Chris.” Jensen hung up and stuffed his phone back into his jacket’s pocket. 

“Fuck…” Jensen exhaled as he raked his hands down his face. Despite the joy of finally seeing and talking to Jared only moments ago, Jensen was completely exhausted now. His face ached, and Jensen was sure it was from all the smiling and blushing he’d done. He’d been a nervous wreck, but even so, it was near impossible to not smile when Jared smiled. The omega’s presence alone was intoxicating, just seeing and being near Jared made Jensen smile in delight and wonder. 

Jared was radiant, like a dazzling star, and Jensen was a mere planet caught in his orbit, dependent on and craving the warmth and light the omega emanated. It made Jensen feel alive in a new way he could scarcely describe. 

Feeling his phone vibrating in his pocket, Jensen sighed and quickly pulled it out, expecting it to be a message from one of his friends. But to his surprise, the text message was from an unknown number.

He quickly unlocked the phone and read the text message.

> Hey, Jensen! I’m so sorry I didn’t text you before (after you gave me your number at the receptionist desk), but, here’s my number! :) Also, I think you mentioned that your friends were also going to question you about our meeting today? If so, good luck!! I just got back home and Chad’s already started with his 1000 questions… I don’t know if I’m going to survive this, lol. 

When Jensen finished reading the message, he could feel himself grinning. He rushed to type out a reply.

> Hi, Jared! It’s perfectly okay! :-) And yeah, my friends are already on their way over to interrogate me about our meeting, so thanks for the good luck, because I’m really going to need it, haha. 

A reply from Jared came in moments later.

> Wow, that sounds pretty intense! I’m only going to be interrogated by Chad right now, so for all of your friends to question you all at once—yikes! So let me say this again: good luck!! Also, I’m (finally) about to make something to eat for myself and Chad (thankfully he didn’t become a cannibal while I was away, haha), so I’ll text you back when I’m done, okay? :) 

Jensen gave a chortle before he began his reply.

> Yeah, I know, I’m gonna need all the luck I can get. One man vs. five…my odds of surviving in one piece aren’t that good… :-/ But hey, I’m glad to hear your friend didn’t become a cannibal while you were gone, haha. And alright, I’ll talk to you after you finish eating then. Have a good meal, Jared! :-) 

Knowing Jared wasn’t going to be giving him a reply anytime soon, Jensen pocketed his phone again. There was still a smile on his face as he gave a pleased sigh.

Though Jensen was still nervous about the inevitable questioning from his friends, and the date he had tomorrow afternoon with Jared, he felt lighter now. The apprehension he’d been feeling before wasn’t as suffocating as it had been only moments ago. Jensen knew he’d be lying if he said the brief exchange via text messages with Jared hadn’t helped with that. 

As Jensen merely sat there, in the quiet of that parlor area, he breathed, let his body relax, and allowed his thoughts to wander back to when Jared had been in the room with him. He thought about how beautiful Jared was—how radiant and infectious his smile was, how his hazel eyes shimmered when he grinned, how his cheeks dimpled when he smiled, how his face flushed beautifully when he was embarrassed. 

He recalled their fleeting kiss.

Now, Jensen couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to really kiss Jared. To taste his lips, to kiss the skin of his neck. Though Jensen instinctively knew Jared was an omega, his scent was virtually nonexistent—Jensen guessed Jared was likely on some heavy suppressants and likely also wore some omega scent neutralizer. Which was perfectly fine, but even so, Jensen couldn’t help but wonder what Jared truly smelled like. 

But when he felt his pocket vibrate again several minutes later, Jensen was forced out of his thoughts. His heart gave a treacherous flutter as he reached for his phone and unlocked it. When he saw it was just a text message from Chris, merely saying they’d just arrived at the hotel and would be up soon, Jensen didn’t stop himself from letting out a disappointed sigh. 

He was just about to put his phone away when it vibrated in his hand. Without much thought, Jensen unlocked his phone and opened the text message. Yet when his eyes read that it was a text message from Jared, he felt his heart clench.

> Hey, Jensen! I’m back! :) Has your interrogation started yet? I’m pretty sure Chad’s already asked me over a hundred different questions, and he’s already asked me to convince you to introduce him to Tom, lol. 

With a grin on his face, Jensen quickly composed a reply.

> Hey, Jared! :-) Unfortunately, the guys are about to get here (and start their interrogation...), so I won’t be able to text you for a while. :-( But as soon as they leave, I’ll text you back! 

A reply came in seconds later.

> Ah, okay, I see—good luck then!! I’ll talk to you later, Jensen! :) 

Before Jensen could think of a possible response, he heard someone knock on the door.

“Hey, Jensen!” a familiar voice called. “Hurry up and open the door, man—we got food here!” 

Jensen immediately stood up, a feeling of dread settling in the pit of his stomach as he eyed the door wearily. There was no way he was getting out of this, there was no possible escape. His friends were already here and they were likely more than ready to interrogate him to death.

“Shit.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to explain something about this AU (that probably no one is wondering about, lol), after they all got to know each other, Christian Kane, Steve Carlson, Mike Rosenbaum, Jason Manns, and Michael Eaton formed _Penumbra_ in 2008 (Mike was the last to join after he finished filming his role in _Smallville_ ). But in 2010, Michael Eaton left the band. Then in 2011, once he was done with his own filming, Tom Welling joined their band as well. And if anyone’s interested in knowing what they play in this ‘verse, Chris is lead vocals, Steve and Jason play the guitar, Mike the drums, and Tom the bass guitar. And when they have their private practice sessions, they like to invite Jensen to sing and play with them.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally, this was going to be the end/last chapter of the fic, but I decided to add another chapter, one that’d be more of an epilogue (set some time/months after this), so yes—we have just one more chapter to go before this fic is done! I hope you all like this chapter, please leave me a comment below if you did! ♥

Before Jared could reach for the doorknob, the door was ripped open and two arms yanked him inside. The door slammed shut and before Jared could ask Chad what he was doing, the beta was pulling him towards their living room until they both eventually sat down on the sofa. 

“So, Jared…” Jared eyed Chad nervously, unsure exactly what his friend was thinking, “spare me no details—how was it like meeting the renowned Jensen Ackles? Did his devilish good looks make you swoon? Were you able to get his autograph like I asked you to? Did you take any pictures of him with your phone?”

The last question threw Jared off, “What? Chad, no—I didn’t take any pictures of him, and no, I most definitely did not ask him for his autograph.” Jared felt his face grow warm as he answered the other questions, “And even though I will agree that Jensen is very handsome, his appearance did not make me swoon. We just talked for a while in his room, like I told you we would.” 

“Ah, I see, so you two just… _talked_ , right?” When Jared noticed the glint in his friend’s eyes, the way the beta’s lips twisted into a grin, he suddenly felt a wave of unease creep down his neck and back. “Because I kept sending you texts and you weren’t answering any of them, Jared, buddy of mine. I mean, I’d understand if you were just too… _busy_ to answer them, am I right?” 

Chad’s implication was clear, and Jared felt his face redden even more in response. “Chad! Like I told you before, we were _just_ talking. Nothing more.” 

“Sure, sure,” Chad waggled his eyebrows, “ _talking_ , yeah, I get ya.” 

“Chad!” 

“Sorry, sorry!” Chad burst out laughing and his laughter only got worse when he took notice of the pout Jared wore. “Oh man—I’m sorry, Jare, you’re just too fun to tease.” When Jared said nothing, Chad reached out to pat Jared’s shoulder twice, “So hey, come on, give me all the details about your meeting with Jensen, because I’m dying to know how _everything_ went!” 

“I thought you said you were hungry?” Jared asked with a raised brow. “You texted me to tell me you were practically on the verge of death due to starvation, that you were even contemplating eating your own arm. That’s the whole reason I came back right now; I couldn’t let my roommate become a cannibal and eat himself to death, now could I.”

“Well, you can’t blame me,” Chad began, “the extreme hunger I was experiencing was warping my senses, was making me see that, rather than having hands, I had two delicious pieces of steak right before me…it was a close call, Jared, I was this close to eating my own two hands!” Jared only shook his head. “But anyways, now that you’re here…” The glint in Chad’s eyes as his voice trailed off was indication enough of what was about to happen. Jared could only try and swallow past the knot that was now lodged in his throat as Chad inched forwards. “So…let’s get back to Jensen…” 

 

“I think that’s enough questions for now,” the omega got up from the sofa, he twisted his back to the sides and winced slightly when he heard the loud popping of his bones, “I’m gonna go to my room for a bit. I’ll be back in a while.” 

Chad gave a pout but nodded his head. 

“Oh, and Chad?” Jared directed his gaze to the beta until Chad stared back at him.

“Yeah?”

“The next time you send me a text asking me if I’ve engaged in coitus with Jensen, you’re going to have to find someone else to cook you food for the next few weeks.” 

“Jared…you wouldn’t!” Chad’s eyes widened in horror. “You’d let your best friend starve to death?” 

“If he sends me inappropriate texts at inappropriate times, then yes, I think I might,” was Jared’s deadpanned response. 

“Jare, my main man,” Chad clasped his hands before him, his eyes pleading with Jared, “I’ve learned my lesson. I promise not to send you anymore texts like that.” 

The omega narrowed his eyes at the beta for a brief moment, as if trying to discern if his friend’s words were true, before he turned away. “Good.”

“Yeah, wouldn’t want me to interrupt your alone time with Ackles, now would ya?” Chad muttered under his breath as he brought his hands down. 

But Jared managed to hear the beta’s words. He didn’t even turn back around to look at his friend as he said, “Well, then, I guess I’ll be too tired all of tomorrow to make any food. You’ll just have to order takeout and pay for it yourself.” And before Chad could give a reply, Jared walked away and shut his room’s door behind him and loudly added, “Good bye, Chad!” 

“Jare, wait! I didn’t mean what I said! Please, I’m too young to starve to death! I have my whole life ahead of me!” The beta continued right outside his door, but Jared only ignored the cries of his friend as he sat on his bed with an amused smile on his face. 

Moments later, when a silence signaled that Chad had left, Jared sent his friend a text saying he was merely joking about tomorrow, but that he was being rather serious about the first matter—Jared most definitely did _not_ want to deal with anymore inappropriate messages in the future, especially when he was in Jensen’s company. It’d been utterly mortifying to have checked his text messages and actually read one from Chad that said ‘dude!! r u not answering any of my texts bcuz ur engaging in coitus w/ jensen freakin’ ackles??????? …bcuz if so…dude!!! wow!!! high-five!! but also…not cool!!!  >:-/ friends b4 alphas, jare! thought we’d agreed on that freshman year!!!’ while he was sitting right _in front_ of Jensen. 

As Jared thought back to his encounter with Jensen, his eyes widened in horror as he came to realize something—while Jensen had given Jared his phone number the day before, even though Jared had saved the number as soon as he could, he’d never actually sent Jensen a text message. Meaning, while Jared had Jensen’s number, Jensen still didn’t have his. 

The revelation made Jared’s heart start in worry, and, in a moment of panic, he immediately reached for his phone and quickly typed up a message and sent it to Jensen before he could stop himself. A reply came only seconds later, and Jared swore his heart attempted to jump right out of his chest the moment he’d felt his phone vibrate. 

As he read Jensen’s reply, Jared found himself smiling. But sadly, just as he was composing his reply, there was a faint knock at his door. Still smiling, knowing fully well who was on the other side, Jared shook his head slightly before he got up to open up the door to see Chad looking quietly down at the floor. “Yes, Chad?”

Chad slowly looked up then, his eyes wide and pleading, “Jare, dude, you know I love you, right? You’re my best bro in the entire universe.”

Jared let out a slightly exasperated sigh after realization dawned on him, “I’ll go and make us something to eat in a moment, just give me a second okay?” 

As soon as Chad had heard the word ‘eat’, a wide grin had been plastered on his face. “You’re the best, Jare!”

“But you’re cleaning _all_ the dishes tonight, alright.” The words were more of a statement than a question.

Chad gave a pout before he gave a resigned, “Fine, alright, I’ll clean ‘em.” Then, with that, the beta turned around and left, leaving Jared alone so he could write a quick message to Jensen.

 

Despite his hunger, throughout their meal, Chad had still managed to ask Jared several more questions about Jensen. Jared had done his best to answer his friend’s questions, but at one point, once the questions started getting just a tiny bit too personal, he’d reminded Chad of his earlier threat to withhold cooking any meals. After that, thankfully, Chad had remained silent.

Jared had been eager to finish his meal as soon as possible, so he could go back to texting with Jensen, but by the time he’d finally returned to his room and texted Jensen, the alpha had told him that he was about to meet up with his own friends, and that he wouldn’t be able to text him for a while. Jared understood, he really did—but even so, his own heart had ached in disappointment.

So for the next few hours, Jared tried to get some of his coursework done. He managed to complete a few of the assignments he’d been given, but eventually, Jared found he was feeling too restless and unable to focus. So he stopped and took a break to watch some more episodes of _Supernatural_. Yet each time Jensen appeared onscreen, Jared felt his heart flutter in his chest. He found that the more he watched Jensen act as Dean Winchester, the more in awe he was of the alpha.

While watching the show, time seemed to fly by until eventually Jared forced himself to stop because it was nearly midnight and he had to wake up early tomorrow in order to prepare for his first, official date with Jensen. The alpha had yet to send Jared a text, and though Jared felt his heart sink in dejection, he reasoned that it was likely because Jensen was still hanging out with his friends, or that he might be busy with something else. Yet now that Jared wasn’t distracted by the show, worry began to creep into his thoughts, and even after he got ready and was finally in bed, Jared lied in bed, wide awake, anxiously wondering why the alpha had not texted him back yet and how things might go tomorrow. 

But just when Jared was contemplating getting up to take something to help him fall asleep, he heard his phone vibrate on the nightstand to his right. He reached over and pulled his phone towards him. To his surprise, it was a message from Jensen. Jared quickly unlocked his phone and opened up the text.

> Hey Jared! I’m so sorry I took forever to get back to you. :( My friends ended up staying over to eat and then talk to me (aka: interrogate me to death…). Given the time, you’re probably in bed already, so I just want to apologize again for the late reply. I hope you sleep well, Jared. I’m really looking forward to our date tomorrow! :) 

The words made Jared feel light, as if all the worries that’d been plaguing his mind only seconds before had abruptly vanished. Now, Jared could only feel his face grow warm, his heart fluttering lightly in his chest.

Despite the late time, Jared quickly typed up a reply and sent it before he could convince himself to just delete everything and go to sleep.

> It’s perfectly okay, Jensen! :-) I figured something like that might’ve happened, haha. I’m excited about our date tomorrow as well! Goodnight and sweet dreams. :-) 

Not even a minute later, a reply came in.

> Goodnight and sweet dreams to you too, Jared. :) 

With a smile on his face, Jared locked his phone and placed it back on top of the nightstand beside his bed. Moments after Jared lay back in his bed, he fell fast asleep.

 

• • •

 

“Chad, uh…are you okay?” Jared couldn’t help but ask his friend.

“Oh, I’m fine—perfectly fine,” Chad replied as he wiped at the corner of his eyes, “just, you know, happy that my best friend’s gonna go on his first official date with his fated alpha. Are you sure I can’t take a picture of you before you leave?” 

Jared felt his face grow warm, “Chad, last time I checked, you’re my best friend, not my mom.” 

“I know, I know,” Chad nodded his head, “but since you’re mom’s not here, well, then I guess it’s up to me to let you know that if you guys want to get intimate, always stay safe, so make sure to have some co—”

“Chad!” Jared felt his face grow warm. “Stop right there! We’re going on our first date! Not, uh— Look! We’re just gonna have lunch and talk and that’s it. Alright?” 

“Yeah, yeah—sure, that’s what they all say,” Chad mumbled. 

Jared ran a hand down his face, “Just— I’ll text you when I’m on my way back. And Chad…” the omega sent the beta a stern glare, “please, no texting me until then, okay?” The beta reluctantly nodded his head, but Jared was sure he heart the beta mutter ‘you’re no fun’ under his breath. Jared ignored the beta’s words as he walked towards the door and opened it. “Great, then I’ll see you later today, Chad.” 

The beta grinned and gave Jared a pat on the back. “See ya, Jare. You two make sure to have loads of fun now, okay?”

Though Jared couldn’t stop himself from smiling, he still rolled his eyes and let out a snort, “Of course.” As he walked out of their apartment and then made his way down the street to the nearest bus stop, Jared couldn’t ignore the way his heart was racing in his chest.

 

Several minutes later, as Jared stood before the door to Jensen’s suite, he was surprised to note that even then his heart was still fluttering wildly, even more so than before. His hand shook as he reached out to knock on the door. Not five seconds had elapsed before the door was quickly pulled open, almost making Jared flinch in surprise, and Jared found himself standing before the alpha. 

“Jared.” The soft expression on the alpha’s face as he gazed at Jared made the omega’s legs feel weak, and Jared silently bemoaned the way his body seemed to react once he was in the alpha’s presence. _Get a grip, Jared,_ the omega berated himself, _you are_ not _going to swoon, dammit._ “Please, come in.” 

After Jensen took a few steps back, to let the omega in, with shaky steps, Jared slowly walked into the alpha’s room. But once he heard the faint click of the door being closed behind him, Jared wondered if he was going to survive their date after all. 

 

Amazingly enough, Jared did survive their date. They’d eaten and then proceeded to watch a movie on the TV in Jensen’s room. They were sitting up on Jensen’s bed, Jensen on the left and Jared on the right edge of the bed. But about halfway through the movie, they’d started talking, asking each other even more questions about various things in yet another effort to know more about each other. Now, they sitting side-by-side in the center of the bed, less than a foot away, their bodies turned so that they could face one another. 

“So…” Jensen actually looked shy now, “before we met on the day before, you’d never actually seen _Supernatural_ before?” 

“Nope,” Jared replied with a bashful smile, “Chad’s the one who watches the show religiously. He’s been asking me to watch it with him for so long now, but I’ve just never had the time to. But, uh, after we met…” the omega averted his gaze then, “I admit I was curious, so, I, uh… I might’ve asked Chad to lend me his _Supernatural_ DVDs so I could start watching the show too.” 

“Oh, uh— Then, if I may ask,” Jensen began, looking rather nervous, “what do you think of…the show?”

“Oh,” it hit Jared then, that maybe Jensen wasn’t just asking about the show, but also what he thought about the alpha’s role in the show, “it’s great, actually. I’m just about to start watching the second season, but I’m really liking everything so far! You, uh…” Jared’s face reddened, “your character—Dean—he’s most definitely my favorite character in the show, by far.” 

The alpha merely nodded, but Jared was surprised to see that the tops of the alpha’s cheeks were tinged with pink. The sight made Jared’s heart flutter, and before he could stop himself, the words were spilling out of him, “Can I kiss you?” 

Jensen’s eyes widened in clear surprise, and embarrassment welled up deep in Jared until he felt like his face, his neck, and even his ears were on fire. “Oh god, I’m so sorry,” the omega quickly began, “I just—”

But Jensen immediately jumped in, “Yes.” When Jared only stopped and remained quiet, his own eyes wide, the alpha rushed to add, “I mean, of course. You— Jared, you’re my true mate. Please know, if you want to…kiss me, you don’t have to ask.”

Jared let out a shaky breath of air, “Oh.” 

“Actually,” Jensen began with a light laugh as he reached to scratch the back of his neck, his cheeks tinged with pink, “I’m pretty sure I’m incapable of saying ‘no’ to you. So, uh…yes.” 

“Me too,” Jared breathed out, “I…I don’t think I can say ‘no’ to you either.” 

“Oh.” 

A charged silence followed. Yet before Jared could close the space between them, Jensen was already moving towards him until he was sitting right in front of Jared with only a few inches of space separating them now. It was then that Jared slowly let himself lean back, he’d been sitting up on the bed before, but now, he let himself lie down until his head was resting on the pillow behind him. The invitation was there, and Jensen immediately took notice as his eyes widened in surprise and worry. 

“Jared…” 

But before the alpha could say more, Jared quickly tried to explain himself, his words tumbling nervously from his lips, “We don’t have to do anything more than…kiss. I just— I— Jensen, I just— I want to feel you. I want to be…closer to you. Maybe we can cuddling in bed for a bit, too, if you’d like? Please…?”

His face feel painfully warm again, and Jared didn’t even try to stop himself from closing his eyes in mortification. 

But then, the bed was shifting, and seconds later, the alpha’s voice sounded incredibly close when he gently called out his name, “Jared.” Jared opened his eyes to find that the alpha was holding himself only a few inches away from him. “Is this okay?”

“Closer…” Jared breathed out after a moment, “please.” 

When the alpha slowly brought himself down, until his body was gently pressing down on Jared, the omega let out a quivering breath of air. He felt pinned, trapped—but rather than feel the need to push the alpha away, to break free and escape, Jared felt the way his heart seemed to flutter as his body began to relax. Jared was nervous still, but being under the alpha, feeling Jensen’s weight on top of him, even if just a bit, was somehow extremely comforting. Like he belonged there, and his body knew it too. 

“Jared?” The omega pulled himself out of his thoughts to meet Jensen’s slightly worried gaze. “Are you okay? I can pull back a bit, if you’d like.” 

“No,” the word rushed past his lips, “Jensen, please. I’m okay. I’m just— This feels…good.” 

“Oh,” Jared found himself transfixed as he watched the alpha’s neck when he swallowed, “that’s…good.” 

Another silence followed, the two watching one another, before Jensen began to bring his face closer to Jared’s. The omega held his breath. When Jared finally felt Jensen’s lips touch his own, he closed his eyes kissed back. 

Jared brought his arms up to wrap them around the alpha’s back, and he gently tried to pull the alpha closer. Jensen seemed to understand what Jared was asking for, because not a second later, the alpha’s body was pressing even more onto Jared. The omega let out a gasp, surprised by the way his body was now starting to react to their closeness, and before he could kiss Jensen back, to continue, the alpha stopped and pulled himself back. 

Jared couldn’t help but stare at Jensen. The alpha’s face was flushed a bright pink as he looked down at Jared, and though his brows were furrowed in obvious concern, his irises were nearly engulfed in black, his lips a dark, glimmering pink. 

The sight took Jared’s breath away. It made him want to bare his neck and beg the alpha to bite and claim him as his. But no matter how much his body craved it, Jared knew he couldn’t do that, not now, not until they were both ready. 

Even so, Jared was in no rush. After so many years, his true mate was here, they’d finally found one another again. They had time now, they could take this as slow, or as fast, as they wished too. 

With a small smile on his face, Jared tightened his arms slightly and gently pulled the alpha down until their lips met once again.

Yes—the future was theirs to do with as they pleased.


	7. Epilogue: Months Later

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And, at last, we finally have the final chapter for this fic (and on Friday the 13th, of all days, hehe)! Thank you everyone for sticking with me while I took forever and three days to finish this, lol. ;; The comments you all have left me so far have been so sweet and lovely and I just really appreciate you all's feedback so much, thank you!! Also, I'd like to mention now that this is my first time trying to write smut, so I just want to apologize now if it's not that good. orz Despite that, I hope you all will enjoy this last chapter! ♥
> 
> Lastly, you guys can also find the tumblr post I made for this fic on my tumblr [here](https://rhyaenv.tumblr.com/post/166369345778/strange-and-untrue-but-i-still-want-you-by) (which includes a small photoset I made for the story). Again, thank you all for reading this fic, and for all your lovely comments! ♥

“Chad!” Jared chastised his friend. 

“Sorry, sorry!” Chad extended both of his hands before him in surrender. “But dude, come on, I get every right to be worried as fuck here, you’re my best friend and you’re about to spend your heat with Jensen fuckin’ Ackles! I’m pretty much still in shock here!” 

“Chad,” Jared warned, his face growing hot. “If you say anything else, I’m not sure I’ll be able to stop myself from punching you in the face.” 

“My face?” Chad yelled as both of his hands snapped up to cup his own face. “Jare, you wouldn’t! You know this is my main selling point! I’m sure you could get arrested for attempting to ruin something so handsome.” 

Jared didn’t even bother to give his friend a reply, the omega merely shook his head.

“So…” when Jared turned and noticed the smirk on Chad’s face as the beta eyed the small duffel-bag by Jared’s feet on the floor, he suddenly felt a small wave of unease well inside his chest, “Jared, my dearest friend, do you have everything you’re going to need for your heat?” 

Jared felt his face flush. “Chad!”

“What?” Chad shrugged his shoulders. “I’m your best friend, I think I have the right to ask.” 

“Oh, really?” Now it was Jared’s turn to smirk at Chad. “So, since we are best friends, if I ask you again about how your date with Tom went the day before yesterday you’ll finally give me a real answer?” 

“You…!” Chad narrowed his eyes at Jared, but Jared could only laugh because Chad’s face was now flushed a bright red. “I said I was going to tell you about it later!” 

“Chad,” Jared stopped laughing and looked seriously at his friend, “I’ve been asking you because I’m your best friend and I’m worried, I just want to know how it went for you. Can you at least tell me if the date was alright?”

To Jared’s pleasant surprise, Chad’s face reddened even more before he replied gruffly, “Yes, it was alright.” 

“Oh,” Jared grinned, “I see, so the date was _that_ good, huh?”

“Get your stuff and get out of here, Padalecki!” Chad bellowed, a blush still visible on his cheeks. 

“Alright, alright,” Jared said between laughs. “I’m just happy you had a good time with Tom. You two’ll be going on another date soon, right?” 

Chad seemed to calm down a bit then, looking almost shy as he replied, “Thanks, Jare. I’m just— Tom’s great, he’s perfection personified. You know I had such a huge crush on him ever since I discovered Penumbra. So for me to actually go on a date with him, for an alpha like him to be interested in _me_ —just some ordinary beta who’s yet to even graduate from college—it’s… I’m still having a difficult time believing this isn’t actually a dream.” 

“Chad…” unable to help it, Jared walked up to his friend and wrapped his arms around him, “I know the feeling, I sometimes still feel like that when I’m with Jensen. Like, this is too good to be true? But trust me, even I can tell that Tom really likes you. Given what Jensen’s friends have told me, Tom hasn’t dated anyone in years. So him going out on dates with you now, Chad, I think Tom’s feelings for you are pretty serious.” 

Chad returned the hug before the two separated. He then paused before reluctantly admitting, “We have our next date in a few days, and I’m nervous as hell about it because he kissed me last time and I’m pretty sure I nearly passed out when he did.” 

“That’s great!” Jared exclaimed before correcting himself. “I mean, about you two going on another date so soon, not about you nearly passing out after Tom kissed you.” Chad let out a huff of air before Jared added with a smile, “You know, when Jensen and I first kissed, I’m pretty sure I almost passed out too. That, or I was on the verge of just falling over. My legs were shaking so bad I was sure I was going to topple over.” 

“I can’t believe this,” Chad shook his head, “the two of us get kissed by gorgeous men and we react like little school girls who’ve just been kissed for the first time by their crush. Jesus Christ, how embarrassing.”

Jared couldn’t help but laugh at Chad’s words, and the beta narrowed his eyes at the omega, though the edges of his lips were turned up in a slight smile, “Shut up, Jared, I’m being serious here.”

“Oh, I know you are,” Jared finally said once he’d stopped laughing. “And you’re—” But he quickly cut himself off when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. “Oh, let me check that.” He pulled out his phone and unlocked the screen to see that he’d received a text message from Jensen, telling him that he was waiting outside for at Jared.

“It’s your alpha, right?” Chad asked with a knowing grin. 

“Chad!” Jared felt his cheeks grow warm. “Jensen’s not my alpha—”

“ _Yet_ —I know,” the beta’s smirk widened, his eyes glimmering with mischief, “but by the time you come back here, well…that’s going to change, right?” 

The flush Jared wore seemed to deepen and crawl from his cheeks up to the tips of his ears. “You’re going to regret this, Murray. When I get back, I’ll have my revenge.” But the omega’s words didn’t seem to phase Chad, at least until Jared added, “I wouldn’t mind having a word with Tom, too. Since you won’t tell me how your date went, I guess I can just ask him.” 

At that, the beta’s head snapped up to stare at Jared with wide eyes. “You wouldn’t dare…” 

“Oh,” Jared grinned, “but I might. Chad, I think you’re forgetting who it is that introduced you to Tom to begin with. And I think it’s only fair I get to ask as many questions as I’d like too, seeing as you probably asked me more than a hundred after _my_ first date with Jensen.”

Chad’s eyes narrowed, then, with a pout, he gave an exasperated reply, “Fine, I’ll tell you everything, and I’ll answer as many of your damn questions as I can, Padalecki.” 

Jared couldn’t help but laugh. “Alright, then you better prepare yourself for the day I come back, Murray, because I do indeed have a whole list of questions for you.” The only reply Jared got from Chad was a huff of air as the beta continued to pout. Jared shook his head but continued smiling as he reached down to grab his duffel-bag and then made his way to the door. Chad followed to opened the door for him. “I’ll see you later, Chad.” 

“Yeah, whatever. See ya later, lover-boy—hope you and your alpha have a great time together these next few days,” the beta said with a wink as Jared walked out of their place.

When the door closed behind the omega, Jared couldn’t help but mutter ‘dammit, Chad’ under his breath before he took in a breath of air and made his way to the stairway of their apartment complex. 

 

When Jared walked outside, his heart gave a staggering lurch that left him breathless—there, standing next to a parked black car on the edge of the street, was Jensen. Though the alpha was wearing a black cap and aviator sunglasses and was staring pointedly down at his phone, Jared knew it was still him. For a second, Jared merely stood there, taking in the alpha’s appearance—Jensen wore a black leather jacket over a white v-necked tee, a pair of black jeans, and some black converse. The outfit seemed to make Jensen look younger, almost like he was a college student as well—and honestly, Jared would be lying if he said he wasn’t digging the alpha’s outfit.

Suddenly, Jared found himself thinking of Jensen pinning him against roughly against a wall in a dark alley, of the alpha twisting his body so that Jensen’s front was pressed against Jared’s back, of the alpha scenting the area right around Jared’s scent glands, of the alpha kissing his neck and whispering sweet nothings in his ear, of the alpha’s hands reaching down to— 

_Oh—fuck,_ Jared thought to himself as he felt his face grow warm, _don’t think about that now, Jared, your heat hasn’t even started yet and you’re still_ outside _!_

“Jared!” The voice quickly jolted Jared from his thoughts to see that the alpha was looking directly at him with a blinding smile on his face. Jared swore Jensen’s smile could make him melt on the spot because his legs suddenly began to feel slightly wobbly. 

“Hey,” Jared said quietly as he walked right up to Jensen. 

“You alright?” Jensen asked as he looked up at Jared, his brows pulled together in concern. “You look flushed. Is your heat starting earlier than planned?” 

“No,” Jared replied quickly, his face growing even warmer, “it’s nothing. Let’s just, uh— Can we head to your place already, please?” 

Jensen seemed to pause, his eyes lingering on Jared’s face before he nodded his head, “Alright, let’s go.” As the alpha walked around the car to get in, Jared pulled open the car’s door and quickly sat inside, placing his bag in his lap. But once both men were in the car, Jared swallowed and mentally prayed to all the deities he could think of because being in a small, confined space with Jensen while he was on the verge of going into heat? Jared felt like he was drowning and suffocating in Jensen’s heady, alpha pheromones. 

 

After they’d arrived at Jensen’s apartment, Jared had taken a seat in the kitchen while Jensen began making something to eat. 

“Jensen,” Jared began again for the third time as he eyed the alpha carefully, “are you sure you don’t want me to help? I wouldn’t mind, my heat probably won’t hit me until some time tomorrow. I feel perfectly fine right now.” 

Jensen quickly turned around to look at Jared. “I know, but please, Jared, let me do this for you. I, just— I want to make all this…special for you.” 

The alpha lowered his gaze as soon as he finished speaking, looking rather shy and nervous, and Jared felt his heart constrict at just how thoughtful and amazing his alpha was. “Okay,” Jensen looked up at him and Jared gave the alpha a warm smile, “I really do appreciate you doing all this for me, Jensen. Thank you.” 

“Of course,” Jensen grinned and then turned back around to continue preparing the food. From there, a comfortable silence followed, only broken here and there as Jensen puttered around in the kitchen while Jared gazed fondly at the alpha. But over an hour later, after they’d eaten and Jensen had cleaned the dishes, the two found themselves sitting side-by-side on sofa, watching television and chatting. 

“Hey, Jared?” Jensen suddenly spoke up during a commercial break. 

“Yeah?” Jared turned around to face the alpha. 

Surprisingly, Jensen looked extremely nervous about something. “I know you’re on birth control right now, and I know I should’ve asked you sooner, but I was just too nervous to ask. So, uh— Well… I was wondering, would you ever want us to have kids?” 

A heavy silence followed, and before Jensen could jump in and say something else, Jared placed his hand gently on Jensen’s knee. “Jensen,” he met the alpha’s nervous gaze and offered him a reassuring smile, “I’m sorry I didn’t mention or ask you about it before either. I probably should’ve asked when we agreed to spend this heat together, but I was really nervous too.” Jared averted his gaze slightly then, as he felt his cheeks redden, “I _do_ want to give you pups. But I’d like to wait until some time after I’ve graduated.” 

“Of course! That’s perfectly fine!” was Jensen’s immediate response. 

“I mean, I know I’m on birth control right now, but…honestly?” Jared added quietly. “Even though we’ve only been together for a few months now, as crazy as it sounds, part of me would like to try for a child now. I just— I can barely juggle my classes and jobs at the moment. Once I graduate next year, I feel like I’ll be better able to take care of and raise a baby. Right now, I just feel like a mess.”

“Jared,” the alpha raised a hand to gently cup the omega’s jaw, “it’s okay, I understand. I’m more than willing to wait until you’re ready.” Jensen leaned in and placed a light kiss on Jared’s lips. “Now—how about we take a shower together before we go to bed?” 

Cheeks tinged with pink, Jared merely nodded. With a fond smile on his face, the alpha got up and extended a hand to the omega, Jared didn’t hesitant to take Jensen’s hand before he too stood up. The two then made their way into Jensen’s room.

 

When Jared came too, the first thing he realized was that his body felt like it was on fire. The heat didn’t feel like it was just surrounding him, but also _inside_ of him. The second thing was the uncomfortable wetness between his legs. And third, once he blinked a few times and his vision cleared, was that Jensen was looking down at him from his side of the bed. 

“Jensen?” the name fell from Jared’s lips in a hoarse whisper. 

“Jared,” the alpha’s brows were pulled together in concern, “your heat’s already started.” 

“Yeah,” Jared winced as he sat up, “I can tell.”

“How, uh— How are you gonna want us to do this?” 

It took Jared a while to understand what exactly Jensen was asking, and when it did, he felt his entire face and ears grow hot in embarrassment. “Oh, that— Well, uh— Since this is going to be my…first time, uh, well, I was wondering if I could be on my…knees?” He heat seemed to crawl down and spread across his entire neck and upper back, “I hear that’s a bit more comfortable for someone being knotted for the, uh…first time, since you can just, uh…lie in bed…spooning each other…afterwards?” 

“Jared,” the omega turned to see Jensen smiling softly at him, “are you sure?” 

“Yes, I’m sure.” 

“Okay,” Jensen said as he inched closer, “then, Jared, please lie back down.” Jared said nothing, merely did as the alpha asked. But once Jared’s head was resting back on top of the pillow, the alpha slowly began crawling over him until, eventually, Jensen was straddling him. 

“I wish you could smell yourself, Jared.” The alpha leaned down to graze his nose on the side of Jared’s neck, and when he took a deep breath to scent the omega’s skin, Jared felt shivers ripple down his back, making his hairs stand on end. “You smell so good. I can already smell your body reacting to me, how it’s preparing itself for me to take you, and even though you still have your shirt and boxers on, I can already smell your slick as well.” When Jensen pressed a gentle kiss against his neck, right next to his scent glands, Jared felt himself melt. “I can’t wait to taste you.” 

“Jensen,” Jared breathed, “please, my clothes—”

But Jensen seemed to be one step ahead of him, because before Jared could even finish his sentence, Jensen was already tugging the omega’s shirt up and off him until it was then discarded onto the floor. Then the alpha quickly took off his own shirt and threw it behind him too. 

“Can you feel me, Jared?” Jensen whispered in the omega’s ear once he’d leaned down again. “Can you feel how hard I am right now, all because of you?” 

And Jared most definitely could—he swore it was impossible to ignore the hardness pressing against his, even through the two thin layers of their boxers.

“Yes,” Jared said in a thready whisper after he managed to find his voice, “god, yes, Jensen, I can feel you.” 

“I can feel you too, Jay, can feel how hard you are under me.” Jensen brought his hips down and the friction caused Jared to let out a moan. “Do you like that?” 

“Yes,” Jared breathed out. 

“Good,” Jensen stopped and Jared wanted to cry, but then the alpha’s next words made him stop, “I’m going to take off my boxers and then yours, okay?” Jared nodded and tried not to whimper when Jensen removed himself from on top of him. “Don’t worry, Jay,” Jensen stepped back until he was standing at the foot of the bed and quickly took of his boxers, “I’ll try my best to make this feel good for you.” 

_I’m not worried about that,_ Jared frantically thought to himself as Jensen crawled back onto the bed, kneeled right before him, and placed his hands on Jared’s knees, _I don’t know how much longer I can last like this._

“It’s alright, Jared,” though Jared swore he could see the desire in the alpha’s darkened eyes, Jensen’s features were soft as he watched Jared, “let me take care of you.” Swallowing, Jared gave a brief nod, and then just like that, Jensen’s hands were trailing down his thighs until they grabbed his boxers and gently tugged them down his legs until they were gone. A painful throbbing spread out in his lower stomach and Jared shut his eyes in embarrassment as he felt his body release more slick. 

“Jared.” 

When Jared opened his eyes and looked down to see the alpha’s head between his legs, his heart threatened to jump out of his chest. “Wait— Jensen, I— I can’t.” 

Immediately, the alpha was moving until he was sitting up, his face twisted in worry, “Jared, what’s wrong? Do you want us to stop completely?” 

“No!” Jared blurted out immediately, and then flushed before he continued in a quieter voice, “I just… Jensen, I don’t think I can…wait any longer. I need you to…knot me, to claim me—please.” 

“Fuck…” Jensen let out a shuddering breath of air, “okay, just…let me prepare you, alright?” 

Jared nodded and bit his lip when he saw Jensen move so that he was laying down on his side right beside Jared, “I’ll do it like this—if you want me to stop at any point, just tell me, okay, Jared?”

“Okay,” was Jared’s quiet reply. 

Moments later, when he felt something nudge against his entrance, he felt his body go still. 

“Please try to relax, Jared,” the alpha gently whispered as he edged his face closer to Jared’s, “I don’t want to hurt you.” Jared let out a shuddering breath of air and nodded before he closed his eyes and let Jensen continue. 

The alpha slowly worked his finger into Jared, and a while later, another. “You might not need that much preparation after all,” he heard the alpha say, his voice lowering slightly, “seems like your body’s already somewhat ready for me.” Jared didn’t dare say anything, feeling too overwhelmed by how Jensen’s fingers were moving inside of him. “I’m going to add a third finger. But before I do that I need to know, is everything feeling alright so far?” 

“Yes,” the word slipped past Jared’s lips in a low moan, “God, Jensen, please don’t stop.” Jensen gave no reply back, instead, Jared felt a third finger enter him. The alpha’s fingers worked inside of Jared, gently moving and stretching the omega open. 

“Jensen,” Jared moaned out the alpha’s name, “please. I think— I’m ready. Please.” The alpha carefully pulled his fingers out. “I need you inside me— _now_.” 

“Right,” was Jensen’s hoarse reply, “just, uh—let me just— Do you still want to do this—”

Jared quickly understood what the alpha was about to ask and instead cut him off by turning himself around so that he was lying with his stomach down on the bed, his back canted up so that his hips were raised a few inches from the bed.

“Oh,” the word tumbled off Jensen’s lips in a breathless exhale, his eyes wide as he took in the sight of Jared on his knees, of his omega _presenting_ for him. 

“Jensen,” Jared turned his head to gaze pleadingly at the alpha, “alpha— _please_.” 

“I, uh— Okay.” Immediately the alpha moved so that he was right behind Jared. His hand moved down to coat his already hard member with some of the omega’s slick, then he positioned himself so his body was draped over the omega. 

When Jared felt the head of the alpha’s member nudge at his entrance, he let out a shuddering breath of air, and when Jensen gradually began to press inside of him, Jared felt as if the air in his lungs had been forced out. 

“ _Jensen_ ,” Jared moaned when Jensen finally bottomed out. 

“Jared— _fuck_ ,” Jensen let out a rough, shaky breath of air as he held himself still so that Jared could adjust to the feeling of having Jensen inside of him, “you feel so damn tight around me.” 

“It feels so good to finally having you inside of me,” Jared breathed out.

“God, Jared, this—” Jensen began, but Jared quickly cut him off before he could say anything more.

“Jensen, please,” Jared begged, “I can’t— I need more, please move.” 

Unable to hold himself back any longer, Jensen slowly pulled himself out until only the tip of his member was still inside of Jared before he carefully pushed himself back in. He repeated the action, bringing his hips back and forwards again, until Jared finally said in a quiet, pleading voice, “Jensen, I know this is my first time, but you don’t have to be so careful. I— I can take it. Please.”

“Alright,” Jensen said as he pulled himself back and quickly thrust himself back inside of Jared. The omega let out a loud groan and Jensen continued, his movements gradually growing faster and harder. The sound of skin against skin and their labored breathing only served to full Jensen even more. Within minutes, Jared could start to feel something else push against him—Jensen’s knot.

“Bite me, alpha!” Jared cried out as he dug his nails into the fabric of the bed sheet. “Mark me, claim me as yours—please!” 

“Jared—fuck!” The alpha let out a bellowing groan when he finally felt his knot slip inside of Jared, locking them together. Not a split second later, when Jensen felt Jared’s walls tighten around him, he craned his head down and sunk his teeth into Jared’s neck and felt himself cum. The omega let out a moan and felt himself climax the second Jensen bit him, officially marking and claiming Jared as his—as his omega, his mate. 

Unable to support himself any longer, Jensen’s body fell on top of Jared. The silence in the dark room was interrupted only by the ragged breathing of the two men. Seconds slowly trickled by before Jensen managed to speak, his voice hoarse, “Jared, let’s lie on our sides now, okay? I don’t want to crush you with my weight anymore.” 

Jared let out a breath of air that sounded like a short laugh to Jensen, “You’re not that heavy, Jensen, but you’re right, we’d both be more comfortable on our sides since we’re gonna be tied together for quite a while now.” 

The two moved slowly and cautiously until they were both lying down on their sides, Jensen’s front plastered to Jared’s back as the alpha wrapped an arm around Jared’s waist. 

Nearly half an hour later, when Jared felt Jensen slip out of him, the omega moved so that he could gently climb on top of Jensen. He straddled the alpha’s lap and let his hands rest on Jensen’s firm abdomen.

“J-Jared?” Jensen’s eyes were wide. “You, uh— Do you want to go again?” 

“This time,” Jared gazed down at Jensen, his face flooding with heat once he knew what he was about to say, “I want to see you. Is that okay?”

“Fuck…” Jared watched Jensen as the alpha flushed and swallowed, “That— That’s more than okay, Jared.” 

“Good,” Jared smiled and leaned down to kiss the alpha— _his_ alpha.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos would be greatly appreciated! You can also find me on Tumblr as [rhyaenv](https://rhyaenv.tumblr.com/). ♥


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